| Election Name: | 2001 Berlin state election |
| Country: | Berlin |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1999 Berlin state election |
| Previous Year: | 1999 |
| Next Election: | 2006 Berlin state election |
| Next Year: | 2006 |
| Seats For Election: | All 141 seats of the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin |
| Majority Seats: | 71 |
| Election Date: | 21 October 2001 |
| Turnout: | 1,623,338 (68.1%) 2.6% |
| Leader1: | Klaus Wowereit |
| Party1: | Social Democratic Party of Germany |
| Last Election1: | 42 seats, 22.4% |
| Seats1: | 44 |
| Popular Vote1: | 481,772 |
| Seat Change1: | 2 |
| Percentage1: | 29.7% |
| Swing1: | 7.3% |
| Leader2: | Frank Steffel |
| Party2: | Christian Democratic Union (Germany) |
| Last Election2: | 76 seats, 40.8% |
| Seats2: | 35 |
| Seat Change2: | 41 |
| Popular Vote2: | 385,692 |
| Percentage2: | 23.8% |
| Swing2: | 17.0% |
| Leader3: | Gregor Gysi |
| Party3: | Party of Democratic Socialism (Germany) |
| Last Election3: | 33 seats, 17.7% |
| Seats3: | 33 |
| Seat Change3: | 0 |
| Popular Vote3: | 366,292 |
| Percentage3: | 22.6% |
| Swing3: | 4.9% |
| Leader4: | Günter Rexrodt |
| Party4: | Free Democratic Party (Germany) |
| Last Election4: | 0 seats, 2.2% |
| Seats4: | 15 |
| Seat Change4: | 15 |
| Popular Vote4: | 160,953 |
| Percentage4: | 9.9% |
| Swing4: | 7.7% |
| Leader5: | Sibyll-Anka Klotz |
| Party5: | Alliance '90/The Greens |
| Last Election5: | 18 seats, 9.9% |
| Seats5: | 14 |
| Seat Change5: | 4 |
| Popular Vote5: | 148,066 |
| Percentage5: | 9.1% |
| Swing5: | 0.8% |
| Map Size: | 400px |
| Mayor | |
| Before Election: | Klaus Wowereit |
| Before Party: | Social Democratic Party of Germany |
| After Election: | Klaus Wowereit |
| After Party: | Social Democratic Party of Germany |
The 2001 Berlin state election was held on 21 October 2001 to elect the members of the 15th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin. Prior to the election, Mayor Klaus Wowereit had led a minority government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and The Greens since June, which had replaced a coalition between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and SPD which collapsed in June. The SPD–Green government made gains, but remained short of a majority. The SPD first sought to form a traffic light coalition with the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and Greens, but were unsuccessful. They subsequently agreed to a government with the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS).
The table below lists parties represented in the 14th Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin.
| Name | Ideology | Leader(s) | 1999 result | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes (%) | Seats | |||||||
| bgcolor= | CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany | Christian democracy | Frank Steffel | 40.8% | |||
| bgcolor= | SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany | Social democracy | Klaus Wowereit | 22.4% | |||
| bgcolor= | PDS | Party of Democratic Socialism | Democratic socialism | Gregor Gysi | 17.7% | |||
| bgcolor= | Grüne | Alliance 90/The Greens | Green politics | Sibyll-Anka Klotz | 9.9% | |||
The 2001 election was an early election. In June 2001, the grand coalition under Mayor Eberhard Diepgen (CDU) broke down following a scandal involving CDU's leader in the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin, . Landowsky, who served as the CEO of a public mortgage bank (later Landesbank Berlin Holding), had financed a risky deal between two men who were donors to the local CDU branch. The cost the city several billion euros. The SPD subsequently left the coalition, which had governed Berlin since 1990, and formed an interim minority government with the Greens supported by the PDS. Klaus Wowereit became Mayor after a constructive vote of no confidence against Diepgen on 15 June. The House of Deputies then voted to dissolve itself, triggering a new election.
The campaign was strongly influenced by the bad state of the public finances and the bank scandal. The CDU nominated 35-year-old Frank Steffel as their top candidate, and played on fears of potential PDS involvement in government. They also focused on security issues, especially after September 11 attacks.
The regional broadcaster Sender Freies Berlin accompanied the election campaign on its website with a "Wahltest" app, marking the first time in Germany that a Voting Advice Application was used.
| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample size | CDU | SPD | PDS | Grüne | FDP | Others | Lead | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 state election | data-sort-value="2001-10-21" | 21 Oct 2001 | – | 23.8 | 29.7 | 22.6 | 9.1 | 9.9 | 5.0 | 5.9 | |
| Infratest dimap | data-sort-value="2001-10-18" | 18 Oct 2001 | ? | 25 | 35 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 5 | 10 | |
| Infratest dimap | data-sort-value="2001-10-12" | 12 Oct 2001 | ? | 25 | 33 | 19 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 8 | |
| Forsa | data-sort-value="2001-10-11" | 11 Oct 2001 | ? | 26 | 36 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 10 | |
| Forsa | data-sort-value="2001-10-05" | 1–4 Oct 2001 | 993 | 26 | 36 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 10 | |
| Forsa | data-sort-value="2001-10-04" | 4 Oct 2001 | ? | 27 | 34 | 15 | 10 | 10 | 4 | 7 | |
| Forsa | data-sort-value="2001-09-27" | 27 Sep 2001 | ? | 28 | 34 | 16 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 6 | |
| Forsa | data-sort-value="2001-09-06" | 6 Sep 2001 | ? | 26 | 35 | 17 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 9 | |
| Forsa | data-sort-value="2001-08-04" | 4 Aug 2001 | ? | 30 | 32 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 4 | 2 | |
| Infratest dimap | data-sort-value="2001-07-20" | 20 Jul 2001 | ? | 26 | 28 | 21 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 2 | |
| Forsa | data-sort-value="2001-07-01" | 1 Jul 2001 | ? | 30 | 32 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 2 | |
| Infratest dimap | data-sort-value="2001-06-22" | 22 Jun 2001 | ? | 30 | 28 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 2 | |
| Forsa | data-sort-value="2001-06-13" | 13 Jun 2001 | 1,000 | 30 | 30 | 16 | 13 | 7 | 4 | data-sort-value="0" | Tie |
| Emnid | data-sort-value="2001-06-04" | 4 Jun 2001 | ? | 33 | 30 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 3 | |
| Forsa | data-sort-value="2001-06-02" | 2 Jun 2001 | ? | 31 | 29 | 14 | 14 | 7 | 5 | 2 | |
| Infratest dimap | data-sort-value="2001-03-17" | 20–26 Sep 2001 | 1,000 | 34 | 29 | 17 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 5 | |
| Forsa | data-sort-value="2001-03-10" | 10 Mar 2001 | ? | 37 | 28 | 14 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 9 | |
| Infratest dimap | data-sort-value="2000-09-30" | 20–26 Sep 2000 | 1,000 | 35 | 30 | 17 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 5 | |
| Emnid | data-sort-value="2000-09-23" | 23 Sep 2000 | ? | 37 | 33 | 4 | 18 | 5 | 3 | 4 | |
| Forsa | data-sort-value="2000-04-17" | 17 Apr 2000 | ? | 39 | 25 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 6 | 14 | |
| 1999 state election | data-sort-value="1999-10-10" | 10 Oct 1999 | – | 40.8 | 22.4 | 17.7 | 9.9 | 2.2 | 7.0 | 18.4 |