19 seats, 34.5% 13 seats, 24.5% 19 13 19 17 Date 25 March 2012 | 13 seats, 24.5% 11 seats, 21.5% 13 11 17 9 Location Saarland, Germany | |
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Winner Annegret Kramp‑Karrenbauer | ||
The Saarland state elections, 2012 were held in Saarland on 25 March 2012. The CDU, led by incumbent Minister-President Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, received a plurality of the vote and formed a grand coalition with the SPD. On 9 May, Kramp-Karrenbauer was re-elected as Minister-President.
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Background
The Jamaica Coalition, led by the CDU, collapsed on 6 January 2012. The decision was based on internal problems within the Free Democratic Party. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, Minister-President of Saarland and chairwoman of the Saarland Christian Democratic Union, stated that "[a] credible and reliable cooperation is no longer completely possible in this coalition." The CDU went into coalition talks with the Social Democratic Party that ultimately failed, which prompted the snap election.
Polling
The following opinion polls were conducted during the campaign:
Aftermath
Having been reelected as the largest party in the Landtag, CDU was tasked with forming the government. Minister-President Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said that she was seeking to form a grand coalition with the SPD, which have 37 seats altogether. Both parties reached a coalition agreement on 24 April 2012. The CDU and SPD would control 3 ministries each. Kramp-Karrenbauer will also head the new government which will be sworn in 9 May 2012.
On 9 May 2012 Kramp-Karrenbauer's new government gained the vote of confidence with 37 votes. There was 12 votes against and 2 abstentions. Her cabinet was later endorsed by the Landtag with the same number of votes.