1980 West German federal election

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.

1980 West German federal election

← 1976 5 October 1980 (1980-10-05) 1983 →
← outgoing members elected members →
All 497 seats in the Bundestag[a] 249 seats needed for a majority
Registered	43,231,741 2.8%
Turnout	38,292,176 (88.6%) 2.1pp
First party Second party Third party   Candidate Franz-Josef Strauss Helmut Schmidt Hans-Dietrich Genscher Party CDU/CSU SPD FDP Last election 48.6%, 243 seats 42.6%, 214 seats 7.9%, 39 seats Seats won 226[b] 218[c] 53[d] Seat change 17 4 14 Popular vote 16,897,659 16,260,677 4,030,999 Percentage 44.5% 42.9% 10.6% Swing 4.1pp 0.3pp 2.7pp
The left side shows the winning party vote in the constituencies, the right side shows the seats won by parties in each of the states. The pie chart over West Berlin shows the partisan composition of its legislature.
Government before election Second Schmidt cabinet SPD–FDP Government after election Third Schmidt cabinet SPD–FDP

Issues and campaign

Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of the SPD-FDP coalition wanted to be re-elected. The CDU/CSU tried to make their candidate the elected Chancellor, 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.^[1][2][3]

Results

Party		Party-list			Constituency			Seats
		Votes	%	Seats	Votes	%	Seats	Elected	West Berlin	Total	+/–
	Social Democratic Party	16,260,677	42.86	91	16,808,861	44.46	127	218	10	228	+4
	Christian Democratic Union	12,989,200	34.24	93	13,467,207	35.62	81	174	11	185	–16
	Free Democratic Party	4,030,999	10.62	53	2,720,480	7.20	0	53	1	54	+14
	Christian Social Union	3,908,459	10.30	12	3,941,365	10.43	40	52	0	52	–1
	The Greens	569,589	1.50	0	732,619	1.94	0	0	0	0	New
	German Communist Party	71,600	0.19	0	107,158	0.28	0	0	0	0	0
	National Democratic Party	68,096	0.18	0				0	0	0	0
	Citizens' Party	11,256	0.03	0	507	0.00	0	0	0	0	New
	People's Front Against Reaction, Fascism and War	9,319	0.02	0	7,160	0.02	0	0	0	0	New
	Communist League of West Germany	8,174	0.02	0	12,008	0.03	0	0	0	0	0
	European Workers' Party	7,666	0.02	0	4,992	0.01	0	0	0	0	0
	Christian Bavarian People's Party	3,946	0.01	0				0	0	0	0
	German Union				421	0.00	0	0	0	0	New
	Independent Workers' Party				159	0.00	0	0	0	0	0
	German Freedom Party				96	0.00	0	0	0	0	New
	Independents and voter groups				3,498	0.01	0	0	0	0	0
Total		37,938,981	100.00	249	37,806,531	100.00	248	497	22	519	+1
Valid votes		37,938,981	99.08		37,806,531	98.73
Invalid/blank votes		353,115	0.92		485,645	1.27
Total votes		38,292,096	100.00		38,292,176	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		43,231,741	88.57		43,231,741	88.57
Source: Bundeswahlleiter

Seat results – SPD in red, FDP in yellow, CDU/CSU in black

Results by state

Constituency seats

State	Total seats	Seats won
		SPD	CDU	CSU
Baden-Württemberg	37	6	31
Bavaria	45	5		40
Bremen	3	3
Hamburg	7	7
Hesse	22	19	3
Lower Saxony	31	23	8
North Rhine-Westphalia	71	44	27
Rhineland-Palatinate	16	6	10
Saarland	5	3	2
Schleswig-Holstein	11	11
Total	248	127	81	40

List seats

State	Total seats	Seats won
		CDU	SPD	FDP	CSU
Baden-Württemberg	35	5	21	9
Bavaria	44		25	7	12
Bremen	1	1
Hamburg	6	4		2
Hesse	24	16	3	5
Lower Saxony	32	18	7	7
North Rhine-Westphalia	76	33	26	17
Rhineland-Palatinate	16	5	8	3
Saarland	3	2	1
Schleswig-Holstein	12	9		3
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

1. As well as the 22 non-voting delegates for West Berlin, elected by the West Berlin Legislature.
2. As well as 11 non-voting delegates for West Berlin.
3. As well as 10 non-voting delegates for West Berlin.
4. As well as 1 non-voting delegate for West Berlin.

References

1. Bjøl, Erling (1984). Grimberg, Carl (ed.). History of the Nations. Vol. 22: From Peace to the Cold War. Helsinki: WSOY. pp. 495, 497–499.
2. Bjøl, Erling (1984). Grimberg, Carl (ed.). History of the Nations. Vol. 23: The Rich West. Helsinki: WSOY. pp. 353–356.
3. Bark, Dennis L.; Gress, David (1989). ""The Era of Macher [Doer]"". A history of West Germany. Vol. 2: Democracy and Its Discontents, 1963–1988. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-16787-0. OCLC 18907067.

Sources

• The Federal Returning Officer
• Psephos