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1976 West German federal election

{{Short description|none}}

{{More citations needed|date=September 2022}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}

{{Infobox election

| country = West Germany

| type = parliamentary

| previous_election = 1972 West German federal election

| previous_year = 1972

| election_date = {{Start date|1976|10|03|df=y}}

| next_election = 1980 West German federal election

| next_year = 1980

| outgoing_members = List of members of the 7th Bundestag

| elected_members = List of members of the 8th Bundestag

| seats_for_election = All 496 seats in the Bundestag{{Efn|As well as the 22 non-voting delegates representing West Berlin, elected by the West Berlin Legislature.}}

| majority_seats = 249

| registered = 42,058,015 ({{increase}} 1.5%)

| turnout = 90.7% ({{decrease}} 0.4pp)

| image1 = {{CSS image crop|Image =Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F049284-0036A, Berlin, CDU Bundestagswahlkampf, Kohl (cropped) (cropped).jpg|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}

| candidate1 = Helmut Kohl

| party1 = CDU/CSU

| last_election1 = 44.9%, 225 seats

| seats1 = 243{{Efn|As well as 11 non-voting delegates for West Berlin.}}

| seat_change1 = {{increase}} 18

| popular_vote1 = 18,394,801

| percentage1 = 48.6%

| swing1 = {{increase}} 3.7 pp

| image2 = {{CSS image crop|Image =Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F048644-0025, Dortmund, SPD-Parteitag, Helmut Schmidt (cropped).jpg|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}

| candidate2 = Helmut Schmidt

| party2 = Social Democratic Party of Germany

| last_election2 = 45.8%, 230 seats

| seats2 = 214{{Efn|As well as 10 non-voting delegates for West Berlin.}}

| seat_change2 = {{decrease}} 16

| popular_vote2 = 16,099,019

| percentage2 = 42.6%

| swing2 = {{decrease}} 3.2 pp

| image3 = {{CSS image crop|Image =Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F049317-0008, FDP-Bundestagswahlkampf, Wahlreise Genscher (cropped).jpg|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}

| candidate3 = Hans-Dietrich Genscher

| party3 = Free Democratic Party (Germany)

| last_election3 = 8.4%, 41 seats

| seats3 = 39{{Efn|As well as 1 non-voting delegate for West Berlin.}}

| seat_change3 = {{decrease}} 2

| popular_vote3 = 2,995,085

| percentage3 = 7.9%

| swing3 = {{decrease}} 0.5 pp

| map_image = 1976 West German federal election.svg

| map_size = 400px

| map_caption = The left side shows constituency winners of the election by their party colours. The right side shows party list winners of the election for the additional members by their party colours.

| title = Government

| before_election = First Schmidt cabinet

| before_party = SPD–FDP

| posttitle = Government after election

| after_election = Second Schmidt cabinet

| after_party = SPD–FDP

}}{{politics of Germany}}

Federal elections were held in West Germany on 3 October 1976 to elect the members of the 8th Bundestag. Although the CDU/CSU alliance became the largest faction in parliament, Helmut Schmidt of the Social Democratic Party remained Chancellor.

Campaign

The coalition of the SPD and the FDP wanted to be re-elected, with the SPD, since 1974 led by Helmut Schmidt, the party's candidate for Chancellor. The CDU and the CSU tried to achieve an absolute majority of the votes to make CDU chairman Helmut Kohl Chancellor, but they fell six seats short of their target.

=Opinion polls=

class="wikitable sortable collapsible" style="text-align:center;font-size:90%;line-height:14px;"
style="height:40px;"

! style="width:160px;" rowspan="2"| Polling firm

! style="width:120px;" rowspan="2"| Fieldwork date

! style="width:35px;" rowspan="2"| Sample
size

! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;"| Union

! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;"| SPD

! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;"| FDP

! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;" rowspan="2"| Others

! class="unsortable" style="width:40px;" rowspan="2"| Abstention

! style="width:30px;" rowspan="2"| Lead

style="background:{{party color|CDU/CSU}};"|

! style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}};"|

! style="background:{{party color|Free Democratic Party (Germany)}};"|

style="background:#E9E9E9;"

| 1976 federal election

| data-sort-value="1976-10-03"| 3 Oct 1976

| –

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"| 48.6

| 42.6

| 7.9

| 0.9

| 9.3

| style="background:{{party color|CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;"| 6.1

[http://magazin.spiegel.de/EpubDelivery/spiegel/pdf/40830801 Emnid for SPIEGEL]

| data-sort-value="1976-09-01"| Sep 1976

| N/A

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"|49

| 41

| 8

| 2

| —

| style="background:{{party color|CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" | 8

[http://magazin.spiegel.de/EpubDelivery/spiegel/pdf/40830801 Emnid for SPIEGEL]

| data-sort-value="1976-08-01"| Aug 1976

| N/A

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"|48

| 43

| 7

| 2

| —

| style="background:{{party color|CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" | 5

[http://magazin.spiegel.de/EpubDelivery/spiegel/pdf/40830801 Emnid for SPIEGEL]

| data-sort-value="1976-07-01"| Jul 1976

| N/A

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"|47

| 44

| 8

| 1

| —

| style="background:{{party color|CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" | 3

[http://magazin.spiegel.de/EpubDelivery/spiegel/pdf/40830801 Emnid for SPIEGEL]

| data-sort-value="1976-06-01"| Jun 1976

| N/A

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"|51

| 41

| 8

| 0

| —

| style="background:{{party color|CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" | 10

[https://www.spiegel.de/politik/schmidt-klar-vor-kohl-in-front-a-bd2544d4-0002-0001-0000-000041343368 Allensbach]

| data-sort-value="1975-11-30"| Nov/Dec 1975

| N/A

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"|50.7

| 39.7

| 8.6

| 1.0

| —

| style="background:{{party color|CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" | 10.0

[https://www.spiegel.de/politik/schmidt-klar-vor-kohl-in-front-a-bd2544d4-0002-0001-0000-000041343368 Infratest]

| data-sort-value="1975-11-30"| Nov/Dec 1975

| N/A

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"|47

| 40

| 11

| 2

| —

| style="background:{{party color|CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" | 7

[https://www.spiegel.de/politik/schmidt-klar-vor-kohl-in-front-a-bd2544d4-0002-0001-0000-000041343368 Emnid]

| data-sort-value="1975-11-30"| Nov/Dec 1975

| N/A

| style="background:#D7D5D7;"|45

| 43

| 10

| 2

| —

| style="background:{{party color|CDU/CSU}};color:#FFFFFF;" | 2

style="background:#E9E9E9;"

| 1972 federal election

| data-sort-value="1972-11-19"| 19 Nov 1972

| –

| 44.9

| style="background:#FFCCCC;"| 45.8

| 8.4

| 0.6

| 8.9

| style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}};color:#FFFFFF;" data-sort-value="-0.9"| 0.9

Results

{{Election results

|firstround=Party-list|secondround=Constituency|seattype1=Elected|seattype2=West Berlin|seattype3=Total|seattype4=+/–

|image=File:Bundestag 1976.svg

|party1=Social Democratic Party|votes1=16099019|seats1=100|votes1_2=16471321|seats1_2=114|st1t1=214|st2t1=10|st3t1=224|st4t1=–18

|party2=Christian Democratic Union|votes2=14367302|seats2=96|votes2_2=14423157|seats2_2=94|st1t2=190|st2t2=11|st3t2=201|st4t2=+15

|party3=Christian Social Union|votes3=4027499|seats3=13|votes3_2=4008514|seats3_2=40|st1t3=53|st2t3=0|st3t3=53|st4t3=+5

|party4=Free Democratic Party|votes4=2995085|seats4=39|votes4_2=2417683|seats4_2=0|st1t4=39|st2t4=1|st3t4=40|st4t4=–2

|party5=National Democratic Party|votes5=122661|seats5=0|votes5_2=136028|seats5_2=0|st1t5=0|st2t5=0|st3t5=0|st4t5=0

|party6=German Communist Party|votes6=118581|seats6=0|votes6_2=170855|seats6_2=0|st1t6=0|st2t6=0|st3t6=0|st4t6=0

|party7=Communist Party of Germany (AO)|votes7=22714|seats7=0|votes7_2=8822|seats7_2=0|st1t7=0|st2t7=0|st3t7=0|st4t7=New|color7=red

|party8=Action Group of Independent Germans|votes8=22202|seats8=0|votes8_2=19490|seats8_2=0|st1t8=0|st2t8=0|st3t8=0|st4t8=New

|party9=Communist League of West Germany|votes9=20018|seats9=0|votes9_2=21414|seats9_2=0|st1t9=0|st2t9=0|st3t9=0|st4t9=New

|party10=European Workers' Party|votes10=6811|seats10=0|votes10_2=3177|seats10_2=0|st1t10=0|st2t10=0|st3t10=0|st4t10=New|color10=#003366

|party11=Christian Bavarian People's Party|votes11=6720|seats11=0|votes11_2=4876|seats11_2=0|st1t11=0|st2t11=0|st3t11=0|st4t11=New

|party12=International Marxist Group|votes12=4759|seats12=0|votes12_2=2037|seats12_2=0|st1t12=0|st2t12=0|st3t12=0|st4t12=New

|party13=Action Community Fourth Party|votes13=4723|seats13=0|votes13_2=2636|seats13_2=0|st1t13=0|st2t13=0|st3t13=0|st4t13=New

|party14=5%-Block|votes14=2940|seats14=0|votes14_2=985|seats14_2=0|st1t14=0|st2t14=0|st3t14=0|st4t14=New

|party15=Independent Workers' Party|votes15=765|seats15=0|votes15_2=499|seats15_2=0|st1t15=0|st2t15=0|st3t15=0|st4t15=New

|party16=United Left|votes16=701|seats16=0|votes16_2=217|seats16_2=0|st1t16=0|st2t16=0|st3t16=0|st4t16=New|color16=red

|party17=Right and Freedom Party|votes17_2=227|seats17_2=0|st1t17=0|st2t17=0|st3t17=0|st4t17=New

|party18=Independents and voter groups|votes18_2=3706|seats18_2=0|st1t18=0|st2t18=0|st3t18=0|st4t18=0

|invalid=343253|invalid2=470109

|total_st4t=0

|electorate=42058015|electorate2=42058015

|source=[https://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/en/bundestagswahlen/1976.html Bundeswahlleiter]

|color8=#F0C219}}

= Results by state =

== Constituency seats ==

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 0.9em;"

! rowspan="3" |State

! rowspan="3" |Total
seats

! colspan="3" |Seats won

class="unsortable" style="width:30px;" |SPD

! class="unsortable" style="width:30px;" |CDU

! class="unsortable" style="width:30px;" |CSU

style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}};" |

! style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};" |

! style="background:{{party color|Christian Social Union in Bavaria}};" |

style="text-align: left;" |Baden-Württemberg

!36

|4

|32

|

style="text-align: left;" |Bavaria

!44

|4

|

|40

style="text-align: left;" |Bremen

!3

|3

|

|

style="text-align: left;" |Hamburg

!8

|8

|

|

style="text-align: left;" |Hesse

!22

|17

|5

|

style="text-align: left;" |Lower Saxony

!30

|18

|12

|

style="text-align: left;" |North Rhine-Westphalia

!73

|45

|28

|

style="text-align: left;" |Rhineland-Palatinate

!16

|6

|10

|

style="text-align: left;" |Saarland

!5

|3

|2

|

style="text-align: left;" |Schleswig-Holstein

!11

|6

|5

|

class="sortbottom"

! style="text-align: left;" |Total

!248

!114

!94

!40

== List seats ==

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 0.9em;"

! rowspan="3" |State

! rowspan="3" |Total
seats

! colspan="4" |Seats won

class="unsortable" style="width:30px;" |SPD

! class="unsortable" style="width:30px;" |CDU

! class="unsortable" style="width:30px;" |FDP

! class="unsortable" style="width:30px;" |CSU

style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}};" |

! style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};" |

! style="background:{{party color|Free Democratic Party (Germany)}};" |

! style="background:{{party color|Christian Social Union in Bavaria}};" |

style="text-align: left;" |Baden-Württemberg

!35

|22

|6

|7

|

style="text-align: left;" |Bavaria

!44

|25

|

|6

|13

style="text-align: left;" |Bremen

!2

|

|2

|

|

style="text-align: left;" |Hamburg

!6

|

|5

|1

|

style="text-align: left;" |Hesse

!25

|5

|16

|4

|

style="text-align: left;" |Lower Saxony

!32

|11

|16

|5

|

style="text-align: left;" |North Rhine-Westphalia

!75

|25

|38

|12

|

style="text-align: left;" |Rhineland-Palatinate

!15

|7

|6

|2

|

style="text-align: left;" |Saarland

!3

|1

|2

|

|

style="text-align: left;" |Schleswig-Holstein

!11

|4

|5

|2

|

class="sortbottom"

! style="text-align: left;" |Total

!248

!100

!96

!39

!13

Aftermath

The coalition between the SPD and the FDP remained in government, with Helmut Schmidt as Chancellor. Between the "sister parties" of CDU and Bavarian CSU there emerged a critical conflict, as the CSU leader Franz Josef Strauß wanted to break both the united Bundestag group of the parties and the agreement not to compete against each other in any Land. Later, this attack was withdrawn, while Strauß became candidate for chancellor for the 1980 elections.

Notes

{{Commons category}}

{{notelist}}

References

{{Reflist}}

External links

  • [https://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/en/bundestagswahlen/1976.html The Federal Returning Officer]
  • [http://psephos.adam-carr.net Psephos]

{{German federal elections}}

Category:Federal elections in Germany

Category:1976 elections in Germany

Category:Helmut Schmidt

Category:1976 in West Germany

Category:October 1976 in Europe