3 October 1976 1980 → 1974 1974 242 42 | 1973 (CDU) 1974 234 242 Start date October 3, 1976 | |
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Turnout 90.7% (voting eligible) Winner Helmut Schmidt | ||
Federal elections were held in West Germany on 3 October 1976.
Contents
Campaign
The coalition of SPD and FDP wanted to be re-elected, with the SPD now led by Helmut Schmidt—the party's candidate for Chancellor. CDU and CSU tried to achieve an absolute majority of the votes to make CDU chairman Helmut Kohl Chancellor.
Results
^† — includes the non-voting delegates for West Berlin (11 CDU, 10 SPD, 1 FDP).Aftermath
The coalition between the SPD and the FDP remained in government, with Helmut Schmidt as Chancellor. Between the "sister parties" of CDU and Bavarian CSU there emerged a critical conflict, as the CSU leader Franz Josef Strauß wanted to break both the united Bundestag group of the parties and the agreement not to compete against each other in any Land. Later, this attack was withdrawn, while Strauß became candidate for chancellor for the 1980 elections.