1980 West German federal election
{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}}
{{Short description|none}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1980 West German federal election
| country = West Germany
| type = parliamentary
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1976 West German federal election
| previous_year = 1976
| election_date = {{Start date|df=yes|1980|10|05}}
| next_election = 1983 West German federal election
| next_year = 1983
| outgoing_members = List of members of the 8th Bundestag
| elected_members = List of members of the 9th Bundestag
| seats_for_election = All 497 seats in the Bundestag{{Efn|As well as the 22 non-voting delegates for West Berlin, elected by the West Berlin Legislature.}}
| majority_seats = 249
| registered = 43,231,741 {{increase}} 2.8%
| turnout = 38,292,176 (88.6%) {{decrease}} 2.1 pp
| image1 = {{CSS image crop|Image =Franz Josef Strauß 1982 (cropped).jpg|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
| candidate1 = Franz-Josef Strauss
| party1 = CDU/CSU
| last_election1 = 48.6%, 243 seats
| seats1 = 226{{Efn|As well as 11 non-voting delegates for West Berlin.}}
| seat_change1 = {{decrease}} 17
| popular_vote1 = 16,897,659
| percentage1 = 44.5%
| swing1 = {{decrease}} 4.1 pp
| image2 = {{CSS image crop|Image =Helmut Schmidt at Andrews AFB 1981 (cropped).JPEG|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
| candidate2 = Helmut Schmidt
| party2 = Social Democratic Party of Germany
| last_election2 = 42.6%, 214 seats
| seats2 = 218{{Efn|As well as 10 non-voting delegates for West Berlin.}}
| seat_change2 = {{increase}} 4
| popular_vote2 = 16,260,677
| percentage2 = 42.9%
| swing2 = {{increase}} 0.3 pp
| image3 = {{CSS image crop|Image =Bundesarchiv FDP-Bundesparteitag, Genscher.jpg|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
| candidate3 = Hans-Dietrich Genscher
| party3 = Free Democratic Party (Germany)
| last_election3 = 7.9%, 39 seats
| seats3 = 53{{Efn|As well as 1 non-voting delegate for West Berlin.}}
| seat_change3 = {{increase}} 14
| popular_vote3 = 4,030,999
| percentage3 = 10.6%
| swing3 = {{increase}} 2.7 pp
| map_image = 1980 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 = Second Schmidt cabinet
| before_party = SPD–FDP
| posttitle = Government after election
| after_election = Third Schmidt cabinet
| after_party = SPD–FDP
}}{{politics of Germany}}
Federal elections were held in West Germany on 5 October 1980 to elect the members of the 9th Bundestag. Although the CDU/CSU remained the largest faction in parliament, Helmut Schmidt of the Social Democratic Party remained Chancellor.
Issues and campaign
Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of the SPD-FDP coalition wanted to be re-elected. The CDU/CSU candidate for Chancellor was CSU leader Franz Josef Strauß. It was the first time that their candidate was from the CSU. Strauß, immensely popular in Bavaria, found it difficult to appeal to people in other parts of Germany. One important reason for Strauss's unpopularity compared to Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, was his tendency to talk sharply and militantly about his political opponents. Schmidt, by contrast, was still seen by many West German voters as a moderate and practical manager and doer, who focused on getting concrete political and economic results more than on political rhetoric.{{Cite book|last=Bjøl|first=Erling|title=History of the Nations|publisher=WSOY|year=1984|editor-last=Grimberg|editor-first=Carl|volume=22: From Peace to the Cold War|location=Helsinki|pages=495, 497–499}}{{Cite book|last=Bjøl|first=Erling|title=History of the Nations|publisher=WSOY|year=1984|editor-last=Grimberg|editor-first=Carl|volume=23: The Rich West|location=Helsinki|pages=353–356}}{{Cite book|last=Bark|first=Dennis L.|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/18907067|title=A history of West Germany|last2=Gress|first2=David|publisher=Blackwell|year=1989|isbn=0-631-16787-0|volume=2: Democracy and Its Discontents, 1963–1988|location=Oxford, UK|chapter="The Era of Macher [Doer]"|oclc=18907067}}
Results
{{Election results
|firstround=Party-list|secondround=Constituency|seattype1=Elected|seattype2=West Berlin|seattype3=Total|seattype4=+/–
|image=File:Bundestag 1980.svg
|party1=Social Democratic Party|votes1=16260677|seats1=91|votes1_2=16808861|seats1_2=127|st1t1=218|st2t1=10|st3t1=228|st4t1=+4
|party2=Christian Democratic Union|votes2=12989200|seats2=93|votes2_2=13467207|seats2_2=81|st1t2=174|st2t2=11|st3t2=185|st4t2=–16
|party3=Free Democratic Party|votes3=4030999|seats3=53|votes3_2=2720480|seats3_2=0|st1t3=53|st2t3=1|st3t3=54|st4t3=+14
|party4=Christian Social Union|votes4=3908459|seats4=12|votes4_2=3941365|seats4_2=40|st1t4=52|st2t4=0|st3t4=52|st4t4=–1
|party5=The Greens|votes5=569589|seats5=0|votes5_2=732619|seats5_2=0|st1t5=0|st2t5=0|st3t5=0|st4t5=New
|party6=German Communist Party|votes6=71600|seats6=0|votes6_2=107158|seats6_2=0|st1t6=0|st2t6=0|st3t6=0|st4t6=0
|party7=National Democratic Party|votes7=68096|seats7=0|st1t7=0|st2t7=0|st3t7=0|st4t7=0
|party8=Citizens' Party|votes8=11256|seats8=0|votes8_2=507|seats8_2=0|st1t8=0|st2t8=0|st3t8=0|st4t8=New
|party9=People's Front Against Reaction, Fascism and War|votes9=9319|seats9=0|votes9_2=7160|seats9_2=0|st1t9=0|st2t9=0|st3t9=0|st4t9=New
|party10=Communist League of West Germany|votes10=8174|seats10=0|votes10_2=12008|seats10_2=0|st1t10=0|st2t10=0|st3t10=0|st4t10=0
|party11=European Workers' Party|votes11=7666|seats11=0|votes11_2=4992|seats11_2=0|st1t11=0|st2t11=0|st3t11=0|st4t11=0|color11=#003366
|party12=Christian Bavarian People's Party|votes12=3946|seats12=0|st1t12=0|st2t12=0|st3t12=0|st4t12=0
|party13=German Union|votes13_2=421|seats13_2=0|st1t13=0|st2t13=0|st3t13=0|st4t13=New
|party14=Independent Workers' Party|votes14_2=159|seats14_2=0|st1t14=0|st2t14=0|st3t14=0|st4t14=0
|party15=German Freedom Party|votes15_2=96|seats15_2=0|st1t15=0|st2t15=0|st3t15=0|st4t15=New
|party16=Independents and voter groups|votes16_2=3498|seats16_2=0|st1t16=0|st2t16=0|st3t16=0|st4t16=0
|invalid=353115|invalid2=485645
|total_st4t=+1
|electorate=43231741|electorate2=43231741
|source=[https://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/en/bundestagswahlen/1980.html Bundeswahlleiter]
}}
= Results by state =
== Constituency seats ==
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 0.9em;"
! rowspan="3" |State ! rowspan="3" |Total ! 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
!37 |6 |31 | |
| style="text-align: left;" |Bavaria
!45 |5 | |40 |
| style="text-align: left;" |Bremen
!3 |3 | | |
| style="text-align: left;" |Hamburg
!7 |7 | | |
| style="text-align: left;" |Hesse
!22 |19 |3 | |
| style="text-align: left;" |Lower Saxony
!31 |23 |8 | |
| style="text-align: left;" |North Rhine-Westphalia
!71 |44 |27 | |
| style="text-align: left;" |Rhineland-Palatinate
!16 |6 |10 | |
| style="text-align: left;" |Saarland
!5 |3 |2 | |
| style="text-align: left;" |Schleswig-Holstein
!11 |11 | | |
| class="sortbottom"
! style="text-align: left;" |Total !248 !127 !81 !40 |
== List seats ==
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 0.9em;"
! rowspan="3" |State ! rowspan="3" |Total ! colspan="4" |Seats won |
| class="unsortable" style="width:30px;" |CDU
! class="unsortable" style="width:30px;" |SPD ! class="unsortable" style="width:30px;" |FDP ! class="unsortable" style="width:30px;" |CSU |
|---|
| style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};" |
! style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party 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 |5 |21 |9 | |
| style="text-align: left;" |Bavaria
!44 | |25 |7 |12 |
| style="text-align: left;" |Bremen
!1 |1 | | | |
| style="text-align: left;" |Hamburg
!6 |4 | |2 | |
| style="text-align: left;" |Hesse
!24 |16 |3 |5 | |
| style="text-align: left;" |Lower Saxony
!32 |18 |7 |7 | |
| style="text-align: left;" |North Rhine-Westphalia
!76 |33 |26 |17 | |
| style="text-align: left;" |Rhineland-Palatinate
!16 |5 |8 |3 | |
| style="text-align: left;" |Saarland
!3 |2 |1 | | |
| style="text-align: left;" |Schleswig-Holstein
!12 |9 | |3 | |
| class="sortbottom"
! style="text-align: left;" |Total !249 !93 !91 !53 !12 |
Post-election
The coalition between the SPD and the FDP returned to government, with Helmut Schmidt as Chancellor. In 1982, the FDP quit the government, which led to the government's collapse and replacement with a new CDU/CSU – FDP coalition under Helmut Kohl.
Notes
{{Commons category}}
{{notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
Sources
- [https://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/en/bundestagswahlen/1980.html The Federal Returning Officer]
- [http://psephos.adam-carr.net Psephos]
{{German federal elections}}