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The Politics of Lower Saxony takes place within a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, where the Federal Government of Germany exercises sovereign rights with certain powers reserved to the states of Germany including Lower Saxony. Since 1948 politics in the state has been dominated by the rightist Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the leftist Social Democratic Party. Lower Saxony was one of the origins of the German environmentalist movement in reaction to the state government's support for underground nuclear waste disposal. This led to the formation of the German Green Party in 1980.
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Prime Minister
The Prime Minister of Lower Saxony (German: Ministerpräsident) is the head of government of Lower Saxony. The current Prime Minister is David McAllister.
Election results
In the most recent state election, the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) held on to its position as the leading party in the state, despite losing votes and seats. The CDU's coalition with the Free Democratic Party retained its majority although it was cut from 29 to 10.
The election saw the entry into the state parliament for the first time of the leftist The Left party.