# 2011 Hamburg state election

The 2011 Hamburg state election was held on 20 February 2011 to elect the members of the 20th Hamburg Parliament. The election was triggered by the collapse of the coalition government between the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Green Alternative List (GAL), which had governed the state since 2008. The election was a landslide defeat for the CDU, which lost half its voteshare and seats. The margin of defeat for the incumbent Ahlhaus Senate is the largest in post-war German history and has not been met since. Much of this lost support flowed to the Social Democratic Party (SPD), which won 62 of the 121 seats in Parliament, forming a majority government led by Olaf Scholz.

## Background

After the 2008 state election, the CDU formed a coalition government with the GAL. This was the first time such a government had been formed in Germany, as the Greens were seen as aligned with the SPD, typically in opposition to the CDU. Popular CDU mayor Ole von Beust was seen as a stabilising force for the government. After his retirement in August 2010 and the election of Christoph Ahlhaus as his successor, relations between the two parties became increasingly strained. In November 2010, GAL left the government. Ahlhaus formed a minority CDU Senate and the Parliament subsequently voted to dissolve itself and hold early elections.

## Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the 19th Hamburg Parliament.
| Name | Name | Name | Ideology | Leader(s) | 2008 result | 2008 result |
| Name | Name | Name | Ideology | Leader(s) | Votes (%) | Seats |
| | CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands | Christian democracy | Christoph Ahlhaus | 42.58% | 56 / 121 |
| | SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands | Social democracy | Olaf Scholz | 34.15% | 45 / 121 |
| | GAL | Green Alternative List Grün-Alternative-Liste Hamburg | Green politics | Anja Hajduk | 9.58% | 12 / 121 |
| | Linke | The Left Die Linke | Democratic socialism | Dora Heyenn | 6.45% | 8 / 121 |

## Opinion polling

| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample size | CDU | SPD | GAL | Linke | FDP | Others | Lead |
| 2011 state election | 20 Feb 2011 | – | 21.9 | 48.4 | 11.2 | 6.4 | 6.7 | 5.5 | 26.5 |
| GMS | 15–17 Feb 2011 | 1,002 | 25 | 43 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 18 |
| Infratest dimap | 8–10 Feb 2011 | 1,004 | 23.5 | 45 | 14 | 5.5 | 5 | 7 | 21.5 |
| Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 7–10 Feb 2011 | 1,686 | 23 | 46 | 14.5 | 6 | 5 | 5.5 | 23 |
| Emnid | 4–10 Feb 2011 | 1,002 | 24 | 45 | 15 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 21 |
| Infratest dimap | 28 Jan–2 Feb 2011 | 1,000 | 25 | 46 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 21 |
| Trend Research Hamburg | 26–31 Jan 2011 | 627 | 25 | 45 | 16 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 20 |
| Infratest dimap | 7–11 Jan 2011 | 1,000 | 26 | 43 | 17 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 17 |
| Trend Research Hamburg | 10–14 Dec 2010 | 648 | 24 | 45 | 16 | 8 | 3 | 4 | 21 |
| Infratest dimap | 10–12 Dec 2010 | 1,000 | 22 | 43 | 19 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 21 |
| Trend Research Hamburg | 2–7 Dec 2010 | 678 | 22 | 45 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 23 |
| Trend Research Hamburg | 29 Nov–2 Dec 2010 | 653 | 24 | 44 | 17 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 20 |
| Psephos | 29 Nov–1 Dec 2010 | 1,002 | 28 | 45 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 4 | 17 |
| Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 29–30 Nov 2010 | 1,006 | 22 | 41 | 21 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 19 |
| Psephos | 6–10 Nov 2010 | 1,004 | 35 | 40 | 12 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 5 |
| Trend Research Hamburg | 15–19 Oct 2010 | 612 | 25 | 35 | 17 | 11 | 4 | 8 | 10 |
| Psephos | 19–20 Jul 2010 | 1,005 | 35 | 41 | 10 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 6 |
| Psephos | 29 Jun–2 Jul 2010 | 1,007 | 36 | 39 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| Psephos | 19–23 Apr 2010 | 1,004 | 34 | 37 | 10 | 8 | 8 | ? | 3 |
| Infratest dimap | 17–21 Feb 2009 | 1,000 | 31 | 31 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 5 | Tie |
| Psephos | December 2009 | 1,001 | 38 | 34 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 4 |
| Psephos | 26–30 Nov 2009 | 1,004 | 36 | 33 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 2 | 3 |
| Infratest dimap | 19–22 Feb 2009 | 1,000 | 36 | 33 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 3 |
| Psephos | 22–27 Nov 2008 | 1,003 | 44 | 31 | 11 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 13 |
| Psephos | 29 April–5 May 2008 | 1,004 | 43 | 34 | 10 | 7 | 4.5 | 1.5 | 9 |
| 2008 state election | 24 Feb 2008 | – | 42.6 | 34.1 | 9.6 | 6.4 | 4.8 | 2.5 | 8.5 |

## Election result

Summary of the 20 February 2011 election results for the Hamburg Parliament :
| Party | Party | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– |
| | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 1,667,804 | 48.42 | 14.27 | 62 | 17 |
| | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 753,805 | 21.88 | 20.70 | 28 | 28 |
| | Green Alternative List (GAL) | 384,502 | 11.16 | 1.58 | 14 | 2 |
| | Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 229,125 | 6.65 | 1.90 | 9 | 9 |
| | The Left (Linke) | 220,428 | 6.40 | 0.05 | 8 | |
| | Pirate Party Germany (Piraten) | 73,126 | 2.12 | 2.12 | 0 | |
| | Others | 115,812 | 3.36 | 1.68 | 0 | |
| Total | Total | 3,444,602 | 100.00 | – | 121 | – |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | | 57.3 | 6.2 | | |
Popular Vote
SPD
48.42%
CDU
21.88%
GAL
11.16%
FDP
6.65%
DIE LINKE
6.40%
PIRATEN
2.12%
Other
3.36% :
Bürgerschaft seats
SPD
51.24%
CDU
23.14%
GAL
11.57%
FDP
7.44%
DIE LINKE
6.61% :