2004 Saxony state election

19 September 2004
All 124 seats in the Landtag of Saxony 63 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	2,080,135 (59.6%) 1.5%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Georg Milbradt Peter Porsch Thomas Jurk Party CDU PDS SPD Last election 76 seats, 56.9% 30 seats, 22.2% 14 seats, 10.7% Seats won 55 31 13 Seat change 21 1 1 Popular vote 855,203 490,488 204,438 Percentage 41.1% 23.6% 9.8% Swing 15.8% 1.4% 0.9%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Holger Apfel Holger Zastrow Antje Hermenau Party NPD FDP Greens Last election 0 seats, 1.4% 0 seats, 1.1% 0 seats, 2.6% Seats won 12 7 6 Seat change 12 7 6 Popular vote 190,909 122,605 106,771 Percentage 9.2% 5.9% 5.1% Swing 7.8% 4.8% 2.5%
Results for the single-member constituencies
Minister-President before election Georg Milbradt CDU Elected Minister-President Georg Milbradt CDU

The 2004 Saxony state election was held on 19 September 2004 to elect the members of the 4th Landtag of Saxony. The incumbent Christian Democratic Union (CDU) government led by Minister-President Georg Milbradt lost its majority. The CDU subsequently formed a grand coalition with the Social Democratic Party (SPD), and Milbradt was re-elected as Minister-President.

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the 3rd Landtag of Saxony.

Opinion polling

Election result

Summary of the 19 September 2004 election results for the Landtag of Saxony

Party		Votes	%	+/-	Seats	+/-	Seats %
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	855,203	41.1	15.8	55	21	44.4
	Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS)	490,488	23.6	1.4	31	1	25.0
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	204,438	9.8	0.9	13	1	10.5
	National Democratic Party (NPD)	190,909	9.2	7.8	12	12	9.7
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	122,605	5.9	4.8	7	7	5.6
	Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)	106,771	5.1	2.5	6	6	4.8
	Human Environment Animal Protection (Tierschutz)	34,068	1.6	1.6	0	±0	0
	Others	75,652	3.6		0	±0	0
Total		2,080,135	100.0		124	4
Voter turnout			59.6	1.5

Outcome

The most striking result of the election was the entrance of the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) into the Landtag with 12 seats. This gained international attention. The party's support was concentrated in the rural areas; commentators attributed its success to alienation stemming from economic depression. The continuing strength of the SED successor party, the Party of Democratic Socialism, which again was the second largest party, was also notable.

The CDU remained the largest party with 55 of 124 seats, but lost its majority, forcing it to find coalition partners. The most logical was the classical liberal Free Democratic Party, who entered the Landtag in the election, but a CDU–FDP government would be one seat short of the necessary majority. Cooperation with the PDS or The Greens was ideologically unfeasible. A theoretical alliance between the CDU and NPD would hold a majority, but this was out of the question. The result was a grand coalition CDU and SPD. This government outcome was later mirrored in the 2005 federal election. The CDU's Georg Milbradt remained in office as Minister-President. Notably, the NPD received two more votes on the ballot for Minister-President than it had members in the Landtag. It is presumed that two CDU Landtag members backed the NPD as a protest against the grand coalition.

Notes

Sources

• The Federal Returning Officer