| Election Name: | 2017 Saarland state election |
| Country: | Saarland |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2012 Saarland state election |
| Previous Year: | 2012 |
| Next Election: | 2022 Saarland state election |
| Next Year: | 2022 |
| Seats For Election: | All 51 seats in the Landtag of Saarland |
| Majority Seats: | 26 |
| Election Date: | 26 March 2017 |
| Turnout: | 533,783 (69.7%) 8.1% |
| Leader1: | Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer |
| Leader Since1: | 28 May 2011[1] |
| Party1: | Christian Democratic Union of Germany |
| Last Election1: | 19 seats, 35.2% |
| Seats1: | 24 |
| Seat Change1: | 5 |
| Popular Vote1: | 217,263 |
| Percentage1: | 40.7% |
| Swing1: | 5.5% |
| Leader2: | Anke Rehlinger |
| Leader Since2: | 18 June 2016 |
| Party2: | Social Democratic Party of Germany |
| Last Election2: | 17 seats, 30.6% |
| Seats2: | 17 |
| Seat Change2: | 0 |
| Popular Vote2: | 158,057 |
| Percentage2: | 29.6% |
| Swing2: | 1.0% |
| Leader4: | Oskar Lafontaine |
| Leader Since4: | 9 August 2008 |
| Party4: | The Left (Germany) |
| Last Election4: | 9 seats, 16.1% |
| Seat Change4: | 2 |
| Seats4: | 7 |
| Popular Vote4: | 68,566 |
| Percentage4: | 12.8% |
| Swing4: | 3.3% |
| Leader5: | Rudolf Müller |
| Leader Since5: | 16 September 2016 |
| Party5: | Alternative for Germany |
| Last Election5: | Did not exist |
| Seat Change5: | 3 |
| Seats5: | 3 |
| Popular Vote5: | 32,971 |
| Percentage5: | 6.2% |
| Swing5: | New party |
| Government | |
| Before Election: | Second Kramp-Karrenbauer cabinet |
| Before Party: | CDU–SPD |
| Posttitle: | Government after election |
| After Election: | Third Kramp-Karrenbauer cabinet |
| After Party: | CDU–SPD |
The 2017 Saarland state election was held on 26 March 2017 to elect the members of the Landtag of Saarland.[2] [3] The incumbent grand coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Minister-President Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was returned with an increased majority.[4] [5]
Even though the Saarland is the second smallest state by population and does not represent Germany as a whole demographically, the election proved to be of pivotal importance to the following state elections and in particular the federal election later that year. Then-SPD leader Martin Schulz led the party to new heights in early 2017 and polls showed the SPD capturing the Minister-President's office in this first election of the year, but the upset CDU victory marked the beginning of a decline in the polls both nationally and in other state elections. This decline culminated in heavy losses for the SPD in Schleswig-Holstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia and, ultimately, in the 2017 German federal election.
The 2012 state election was called after the collapse of the Jamaica coalition of the CDU, Free Democratic Party (FDP) and The Greens. The election saw the collapse of the FDP, a downswing for The Left and Greens, gains for the SPD, and the entry of the Pirates. Afterwards, the CDU and SPD formed a grand coalition.[6]
The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Saarland.
| Name | Ideology | Leader(s) | 2012 result | since 2015 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes (%) | Seats | ||||||||
| bgcolor= | CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany | Christian democracy | Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer | 35.2% | ||||
| bgcolor= | SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany | Social democracy | Anke Rehlinger | 30.6% | ||||
| bgcolor= | Linke | The Left | Democratic socialism | Oskar Lafontaine | 16.1% | ||||
| bgcolor= | Piraten | Pirate Party Germany | Pirate politics | Gerd Rainer Weber | 7.4% | ||||
| bgcolor= | Grüne | Alliance 90/The Greens | Green politics | Hubert Ulrich Barbara Meyer-Gluche | 5.0% | ||||
| Publication date | Poll source | Others | Lead | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 March 2017 | 2017 state election | 40.7 | 29.6 | 12.9 | 0.7 | 4.0 | 3.3 | 6.2 | 1.9 | 11.1 | |
| 23 Mar 2017 | Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 37 | 32 | 12.5 | – | 4.5 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 | |
| 22 Mar 2017 | INSA | 35 | 33 | 13 | – | 4 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 2 | |
| 17 Mar 2017 | Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 37 | 32 | 12 | – | 4 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 5 | |
| 16 Mar 2017 | Infratest dimap | 35 | 34 | 13 | – | 4.5 | 3 | 6.5 | 4 | 1 | |
| 9 Mar 2017 | Forsa | 34 | 33 | 13 | – | 5 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 1 | |
| 7 Mar 2017 | INSA | 36 | 33 | 12 | – | 4 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 3 | |
| 26 Jan 2017 | Infratest dimap | 38 | 26 | 14 | – | 5 | 4 | 9 | 4 | 12 | |
| 13 Jan 2017 | INSA | 35 | 24 | 16 | – | 6 | 5 | 10 | 2 | 11 | |
| 15 Nov 2016 | Forsa | 37 | 26 | 15 | – | 6 | 3 | 9 | 4 | 11 | |
| 11 May 2016 | Infratest dimap | 34 | 29 | 12 | – | 7 | 4 | 11 | 3 | 5 | |
| 31 Mar 2015 | Infratest dimap | 40 | 33 | 10 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 7 | |
| data-sort-value="2014-05-25" | 25 May 2014 | 2014 European election | 34.9 | 34.4 | 6.6 | 1.7 | 6.0 | 2.2 | 6.8 | 7.4 | 0.5 |
| 14 May 2014 | Infratest dimap | 37 | 34 | 13 | 2 | 5 | – | 5 | 4 | 3 | |
| data-sort-value="2013-09-22" | 22 Sep 2013 | 2013 federal election | 37.8 | 31.0 | 10.0 | 2.6 | 5.7 | 3.8 | 5.2 | 3.9 | 6.8 |
| 7 May 2013 | Infratest dimap | 39 | 36 | 10 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | |
| 25 March 2012 | 2012 state election | 35.2 | 30.6 | 16.1 | 7.4 | 5.0 | 1.2 | – | 4.4 | 4.6 |
| Publication date | Poll source | None | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer CDU | Anke Rehlinger SPD | Heiko Maas SPD | ||||
| 23 Mar 2017 | Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 53.0 | 34.0 | – | 13.0 | |
| 17 Mar 2017 | Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 55.0 | 31.0 | – | 14.0 | |
| 16 Mar 2017 | Infratest dimap | 51.0 | 32.0 | – | 7.0 | |
| 26 Jan 2017 | Infratest dimap | 60.0 | 23.0 | – | 9.0 | |
| 15 Nov 2016 | Forsa | 54.0 | 19.0 | – | – | |
| 11 May 2016 | Infratest dimap | 59.0 | 26.0 | – | 10.0 | |
| 31 Mar 2015 | Infratest dimap | 62.0 | 18.0 | – | 9.0 | |
| 14 May 2014 | Infratest dimap | 53.0 | – | 35.0 | 6.0 | |
| 7 May 2013 | Infratest dimap | 53.0 | – | 36.0 | 7.0 |
|-| colspan=8| |-! colspan="2" | Party! Votes! %! +/-! Seats ! +/-! Seats %|-| bgcolor=| | align=left | Christian Democratic Union (CDU)| align=right| 217,263| align=right| 40.7| align=right| 5.5| align=right| 24| align=right| 5| align=right| 47.1|-| bgcolor=| | align=left | Social Democratic Party (SPD)| align=right| 158,057| align=right| 29.6| align=right| 1.0| align=right| 17| align=right| 0| align=right| 33.3|-| bgcolor=| | align=left | The Left (Linke)| align=right| 68,566| align=right| 12.8| align=right| 3.3| align=right| 7| align=right| 2| align=right| 13.7|-| bgcolor=| | align=left | Alternative for Germany (AfD)| align=right| 32,971| align=right| 6.2| align=right| New| align=right| 3| align=right| New| align=right| 5.9|-! colspan=8||-| bgcolor=| | align=left | Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)| align=right| 21,392| align=right| 4.0| align=right| 1.0| align=right| 0| align=right| 2| align=right| 0|-| bgcolor=| | align=left | Free Democratic Party (FDP)| align=right| 17,419| align=right| 3.3| align=right| 2.1| align=right| 0| align=right| ±0| align=right| 0|-| bgcolor=| | align=left | Family Party of Germany (FAMILIE)| align=right| 4,435| align=right| 0.8| align=right| 0.9| align=right| 0| align=right| ±0| align=right| 0|-| bgcolor=| | align=left | Pirate Party (Piraten)| align=right| 3,979| align=right| 0.7| align=right| 6.7| align=right| 0| align=right| 4| align=right| 0|-| bgcolor=| | align=left | National Democratic Party (NPD)| align=right| 3,744| align=right| 0.7| align=right| 0.5| align=right| 0| align=right| ±0| align=right| 0|-| bgcolor=|| align=left | Others| align=right| 5,957| align=right| 1.1| align=right| | align=right| 0| align=right| ±0| align=right| 0|-! align=right colspan=2| Total! align=right| 533,783! align=right| 100.0! align=right| ! align=right| 51! align=right| ±0! align=right| |-! align=right colspan=2| Voter turnout! align=right| ! align=right| 69.7! align=right| 8.1! align=right| ! align=right| ! align=right| |}
Observers were surprised by the CDU's strong performance, as opinion polls predicted a close contest between the CDU and SPD.[7] After the election, several commentators described the results as a boost for the September 2017 electoral prospects of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the CDU,[8] [9] [10] and as a setback for SPD leader Martin Schulz.[11]
As both the CDU and SPD refused to coalition with AfD, the CDU and SPD coalition reached an agreement to continue governing together after the election.[12]