| Election Name: | 1980 West German federal election |
| Country: | West Germany |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1976 West German federal election |
| Previous Year: | 1976 |
| Next Election: | 1983 West German federal election |
| Next Year: | 1983 |
| Outgoing Members: | List of members of the 8th Bundestag |
| Elected Members: | List of members of the 9th Bundestag |
| Seats For Election: | All 497 seats in the Bundestag |
| Majority Seats: | 249 |
| Registered: | 43,231,741 2.8% |
| Turnout: | 38,292,176 (88.6%) 2.1pp |
| Candidate1: | Franz-Josef Strauss |
| Party1: | CDU/CSU |
| Last Election1: | 48.6%, 243 seats |
| Seats1: | 226 |
| Seat Change1: | 17 |
| Popular Vote1: | 16,897,659 |
| Percentage1: | 44.5% |
| Swing1: | 4.1pp |
| Candidate2: | Helmut Schmidt |
| Party2: | Social Democratic Party of Germany |
| Last Election2: | 42.6%, 214 seats |
| Seats2: | 218 |
| Seat Change2: | 4 |
| Popular Vote2: | 16,260,677 |
| Percentage2: | 42.9% |
| Swing2: | 0.3pp |
| Candidate3: | Hans-Dietrich Genscher |
| Party3: | Free Democratic Party (Germany) |
| Last Election3: | 7.9%, 39 seats |
| Seats3: | 53 |
| Seat Change3: | 14 |
| Popular Vote3: | 4,030,999 |
| Percentage3: | 10.6% |
| Swing3: | 2.7pp |
| Map Size: | 400px |
| Government | |
| Before Election: | Second Schmidt cabinet |
| Before Party: | SPD–FDP |
| Posttitle: | Government after election |
| After Election: | Third Schmidt cabinet |
| After Party: | SPD–FDP |
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.
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]
| 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 | |
| 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 | |
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.