# 2008 Hamburg state election

The 2008 Hamburg state election was held on 24 February 2008 to elect the members of the 19th Hamburg Parliament. The incumbent Christian Democratic Union led by First Mayor Ole von Beust government lost its majority. The CDU subsequently formed a coalition government with the Green Alternative List. This was the first time the CDU had formed a state government with the Greens in Germany.

## Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the 18th Hamburg Parliament.
| Name | Name | Name | Ideology | Leader(s) | 2004 result | 2004 result |
| Name | Name | Name | Ideology | Leader(s) | Votes (%) | Seats |
| | CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands | Christian democracy | Ole von Beust | 47.2% | 63 / 121 |
| | SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands | Social democracy | Michael Naumann | 30.5% | 41 / 121 |
| | GAL | Green Alternative List Grün-Alternative-Liste Hamburg | Green politics | Christa Goetsch | 12.3% | 17 / 121 |

## Opinion polling

| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample size | CDU | SPD | GAL | FDP | Linke | Others | Lead |
| 2008 state election | 24 Feb 2008 | – | 42.6 | 34.1 | 9.6 | 4.8 | 6.4 | 2.5 | 8.5 |
| GMS | 18–20 Feb 2008 | 1,002 | 40 | 35 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 4 | 5 |
| election.de | 14–19 Feb 2008 | 1,010 | 41 | 35 | 10 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 6 |
| Psephos | 12–16 Feb 2008 | 1,006 | 42 | 34 | 9 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 8 |
| Infratest dimap | 14–15 Feb 2008 | 1,000 | 39 | 35 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 3 | 4 |
| Emnid | 5–12 Feb 2008 | 1,000 | 42 | 32 | 11 | 5 | 7 | ? | 10 |
| Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 12–14 Feb 2008 | 1,018 | 41 | 34 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 7 |
| Infratest dimap | 12–13 Feb 2008 | 1,000 | 39 | 35 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 4 |
| Infratest dimap | 29–30 Jan 2008 | 1,000 | 41 | 33 | 10 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
| Psephos | 18–23 Jan 2008 | 1,003 | 42 | 36 | 10 | 3.5 | 5 | 3.5 | 6 |
| election.de | 16–22 Jan 2008 | 750 | 37 | 38 | 13 | 5 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Infratest dimap | 2–4 Jan 2008 | 1,000 | 40 | 35 | 11 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 5 |
| Emnid | 10 Dec–2 Jan 2008 | 600 | 42 | 31 | 13 | 5 | 7 | 2 | 11 |
| AMR Düsseldorf | 29 Dec 2007 | 1,000 | 42 | 33 | 12 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 9 |
| Infratest dimap | 7–12 Dec 2007 | 1,000 | 41 | 34 | 12 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 7 |
| TNS Infratest | 4–7 Dec 2007 | 1,216 | 40 | 33 | 13 | 3 | 7 | ? | 7 |
| Psephos | 3–7 Dec 2007 | 1,007 | 44 | 33 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 11 |
| Emnid | 22 Nov–5 Dec 2007 | 603 | 41 | 31 | 12 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 10 |
| Infratest dimap | 3–5 Sep 2007 | 1,000 | 42 | 32 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 10 |
| TNS Infratest | 13–15 Aug 2007 | 1,001 | 42 | 33 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
| Psephos | 28 Jun–3 Jul 2007 | 1,005 | 45 | 30 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 15 |
| Forsa | 14–18 May 2007 | 1,001 | 41 | 29 | 16 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 12 |
| Emnid | 12–14 Mar 2007 | 1,000 | 44 | 32 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 12 |
| Psephos | 26–27 Feb 2007 | 958 | 45 | 31 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 14 |
| Emnid | 5–7 Feb 2007 | 1,000 | 43 | 32 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 11 |
| Psephos | 5 Jan 2007 | 1,002 | 44 | 33 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| Infratest dimap | 19–22 Oct 2006 | 1,000 | 35 | 36 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 1 |
| Forsa | 1–8 Aug 2006 | 1,001 | 44 | 27 | 14 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 17 |
| Psephos | 5 May 2006 | 1,004 | 45 | 33 | 12 | 2 | 2.5 | 5.5 | 12 |
| Psephos | 17 Feb 2006 | 1,005 | 47 | 32 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 15 |
| Emnid | 6–8 Feb 2006 | 1,000 | 46 | 33 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 13 |
| Psephos | 9 Jan 2006 | 721 | 46 | 31 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 15 |
| Psephos | 3–6 Sep 2005 | 1,011 | 49 | 30 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 19 |
| Psephos | 2–3 Aug 2005 | 1,000 | 48 | 28 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 20 |
| Psephos | 21–24 Apr 2005 | 1,002 | 46 | 29 | 14 | 4 | – | 7 | 17 |
| Psephos | 21–24 Feb 2005 | 1,005 | 48 | 29 | 14 | 3 | – | 6 | 19 |
| Psephos | 21–23 Oct 2004 | 1,001 | 48 | 28 | 14 | 4 | – | 6 | 20 |
| Emnid | 12 Aug 2004 | ? | 48 | 25 | 17 | 3 | – | 7 | 23 |
| Psephos | 18–22 Jun 2004 | 1,007 | 50 | 25 | 16 | 4 | – | 5 | 25 |
| 2004 state election | 29 Feb 2004 | – | 47.2 | 30.5 | 12.3 | 2.8 | – | 7.1 | 16.7 |

## Election result

Summary of the 24 February 2008 election results for the Hamburg Parliament :
| Party | Party | Votes | % | +/- | Seats | +/- | Seats % |
| | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 331,067 | 42.6 | 4.6 | 56 | 7 | 46.3 |
| | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 265,516 | 34.1 | 3.6 | 45 | 4 | 37.2 |
| | Green Alternative List (GAL) | 74,472 | 9.6 | 2.7 | 12 | 5 | 9.9 |
| | The Left (Linke) | 50,132 | 6.4 | 6.4 | 8 | 8 | 6.6 |
| | Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 36,953 | 4.8 | 2.0 | 0 | ±0 | 0 |
| | German People's Union (DVU) | 6,354 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 0 | ±0 | 0 |
| | Others | 13,037 | 1.7 | | 0 | ±0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 777,531 | 100.0 | | 121 | ±0 | |
| Voter turnout | Voter turnout | | 63.5 | 5.2 | | | |
Popular Vote
CDU
42.58%
SPD
34.15%
GAL
9.58%
DIE LINKE
6.45%
FDP
4.75%
Other
2.49% :
Bürgerschaft seats
CDU
46.28%
SPD
37.19%
GAL
9.92%
DIE LINKE
6.61% :