State election in Hesse 1978
The elections for the 9th Hessian Landtag took place on October 8, 1978. Despite the Union's triumphant victory in the local elections in Hesse in 1977 and the resignation of Albert Osswald after the Helaba scandal , the social-liberal coalition was again able to achieve a majority.
initial situation
The previous state election on October 27, 1974 brought the following result:
| Political party | Voting share | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| CDU | 47.3% | 53 |
| SPD | 43.2% | 49 |
| FDP | 7.4% | 8th |
In the previous state elections in 1974, the SPD and FDP achieved a clear majority of seats despite massive losses. Although the challenger, the CDU top candidate Alfred Dregger , led the CDU to record results in two consecutive ballots, this success did not lead to the takeover of government. Therefore, the social-liberal coalition with Prime Minister Albert Osswald could be continued. Their policies then came under massive criticism from the opposition and growing sections of the public. Above all, the “red felt” was criticized. This allegation was made in 1976 in the context of the Helaba scandal. As a result of this scandal, Prime Minister Albert Osswald resigned on October 3, 1976 (the evening of the federal election). Holger Börner (SPD) was elected as his successor .
In terms of content, the main controversy in Hessen in the 1970s was on two topics: the regional reform in Hessen and school policy. The territorial reform triggered a wave of indignation in many places. The example of the city of Lahn , which was formed from the cities of Gießen and Wetzlar , 15 km apart, was particularly extreme .
The second central issue of state politics was school policy. The attempt by the SPD-led government to abolish the structured school system in favor of the comprehensive school met with massive resistance from the parents concerned to the policies of Education Minister Ludwig von Friedeburg , who was no longer appointed to the new cabinet after the 1974 state election. The school policy specifications were unchanged, but the ongoing discussion lost its emotional component after Friedeburg was replaced.
Both issues together led to the fact that the CDU was able to achieve a landslide victory in the 1977 local elections . The election of Walter Wallmann as Lord Mayor of Frankfurt am Main received special attention .
Top candidates
The SPD ran with Prime Minister Holger Börner as the top candidate. The opposing candidate of the CDU was again parliamentary group leader Alfred Dregger . The FDP's top candidate was Ekkehard Gries .
Opinion polls
The pre-election opinion polls carried out at the beginning of September showed a mixed picture. While Allensbach predicted a victory for the Union, the Infas survey showed a majority for red-yellow.
| Allensbach | Infas | |
|---|---|---|
| CDU | 47.2% | 45.5% |
| SPD | 40.4% | 45% |
| FDP | 6.8% | 5.5% |
source
Official end result
The state elections on October 8, 1978 brought the following results:
| Political party | agree completely |
percent | Electoral kreisbe- tors |
Direct MAN date |
Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eligible voters | 3,933,990 | ||||
| Voters | 3,450,090 | 87.70 | |||
| Valid votes | 3,422,967 | 99.21 | |||
| CDU | 1,575,445 | 46.03 | 55 | 29 | 53 |
| SPD | 1,515,953 | 44.29 | 55 | 26th | 50 |
| FDP | 225.044 | 6.57 | 55 | 7th | |
| GLH | 37,758 | 1.10 | 55 | ||
| GAZ | 30,787 | 0.90 | 55 | ||
| DKP | 14,531 | 0.42 | 55 | ||
| NPD | 12,507 | 0.37 | 55 | ||
| FWG | 7,452 | 0.22 | 36 | ||
| KBW | 2,638 | 0.08 | 55 | ||
| EAP | 511 | 0.01 | 21st | ||
| GLU | 274 | 0.01 | 2 | ||
| Justice Party (G) | 39 | 0.00 | 1 | ||
| AVP | 12 | 0.00 | 1 | ||
| Individual applicants | 16 | 0.00 | 1 | ||
| Total | 3,422,967 | 100 | 502 | 55 | 110 |
In view of the discussions on education policy and after the local elections won by the CDU, the result was quite surprising. The longstanding rise of the CDU in the Hessian state elections was stopped, and the social-liberal coalition maintained its majority despite the first candidacy of ecologically oriented parties. On the evening of the election, Börner announced that the city of Lahn would be dissolved again.
Elective test
The election review court at the Hessian state parliament ruled against the objections to the election in a judgment of June 25, 1979 and declared the election valid.
Consequences
Hesse
With this result, the social-liberal coalition could be continued. Holger Börner was confirmed as head of government. Bearing in mind the citizens' protests (and the fact that 2/3 of the districts were now governed as school bodies by the CDU) the pace of the introduction of the comprehensive school was reduced without giving up the goal itself. The political discussion during the electoral period in state politics was determined by the topics of Runway West and nuclear politics.
With the election results of the two Green parties, the trend towards a stronger focus on ecological issues in politics emerged in retrospect. The Green Action Future (GAZ) founded by the former CDU MP Herbert Gruhl with 0.9% and the Green List Hessen (GLH) led by Alexander Schubart and Jutta Ditfurth with 1.1% were each far from entering the state parliament away. However, the election result was also an impetus that ultimately led to the founding of the Green Party .
See also
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ State elections in Hesse 1946 - 2009 Hessian State Statistical Office
- ↑ Greens 1978: GAZ, GLH and GLU
- ↑ Horst-Dieter Rönsch: The Hessian state elections of October 8, 1978: the beginning of a new trend? In: Jakob Schissler (Ed.): Political culture and political system in Hessen. 1981, ISBN 3-458-04784-4 , pp. 153-171.
- ↑ State Gazette for the State of Hesse No. 45/1978, p. 2226 ff.