# 2014 Thuringian state election

The 2014 Thuringian state election was held on 14 September 2014 to elect the members of the 6th Landtag of Thuringia. The government prior to the election was a grand coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Minister-President Christine Lieberknecht. The government narrowly retained its majority. However, the SPD chose not to renew the coalition, instead pursuing an agreement to enter as a junior partner in a coalition with The Left and The Greens. After a vote of the SPD membership showed a majority in favour, the SPD went ahead with the agreement.
On 5 December the red-red-green coalition, led by The Left's Bodo Ramelow, was elected by the Landtag with 46 out of 91 votes. This was the first time in its history that The Left had become the leading party of a governing coalition in Germany. Ramelow became The Left's first ever head of a state government.

## Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the 5th Landtag of Thuringia.
| 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 | Christine Lieberknecht | 31.2% | 30 / 88 |
| | Linke | The Left Die Linke | Democratic socialism | Bodo Ramelow | 27.4% | 27 / 88 |
| | SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands | Social democracy | Heike Taubert | 18.5% | 18 / 88 |
| | FDP | Free Democratic Party Freie Demokratische Partei | Classical liberalism | Uwe Barth | 7.6% | 7 / 88 |
| | Grüne | Alliance 90/The Greens Bündnis 90/Die Grünen | Green politics | Anja Siegesmund | 6.2% | 6 / 88 |

## Opinion polling

| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample size | CDU | Linke | SPD | FDP | Grüne | NPD | FW | Piraten | AfD | Others | Lead |
| 2014 state election | 14 Sep 2014 | – | 33.5 | 28.2 | 12.4 | 2.5 | 5.7 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 10.6 | 0.9 | 5.3 |
| Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 10–11 Sep 2014 | 949 | 36.0 | 26.0 | 16.0 | – | 5.5 | – | – | – | 8.0 | 8.5 | 10.0 |
| Infratest dimap | 2–4 Sep 2014 | 1,001 | 34 | 28 | 16 | 3 | 5 | 4 | – | – | 7 | 3 | 6 |
| Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 1–3 Sep 2014 | 1,002 | 36 | 26 | 16 | – | 6 | – | – | – | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| INSA | 23 Jul–1 Aug 2014 | 500 | 34 | 26 | 19 | 4 | 6 | – | – | – | 5 | 6 | 8 |
| Infratest dimap | 9–13 Jul 2014 | 1,000 | 36 | 27 | 19 | 2 | 6 | 2 | – | – | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| INSA | 5 Jun–1 Jul 2014 | 2,009 | 33 | 25 | 18 | 3 | 6 | – | 2 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 8 |
| 2014 European election | 25 May 2014 | – | 31.8 | 22.5 | 18.4 | 2.1 | 5.0 | 3.4 | 1.8 | 1.4 | 7.4 | 6.2 | 9.3 |
| Infratest dimap | 7–11 May 2014 | 1,001 | 36 | 28 | 19 | 2 | 5 | 3 | – | – | 4 | 3 | 8 |
| Infratest dimap | 6–10 Mar 2014 | 1,000 | 38 | 28 | 17 | 2 | 6 | – | – | – | 5 | 4 | 10 |
| INSA | 20 Feb 2014 | 1,000 | 35 | 25 | 20 | 3 | 5 | – | 2 | – | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| aproxima | 17–21 Jan 2014 | 505 | 27 | 28 | 22 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| INSA | 19–25 Nov 2013 | 1,002 | 35 | 27 | 18 | 2 | 7 | – | – | – | 5 | 6 | 8 |
| INSA | 5–8 Nov 2013 | 1,000 | 36 | 27 | 14 | 2 | 6 | – | – | – | 6 | 9 | 13 |
| Emnid | 9–23 Oct 2013 | 1,000 | 39 | 26 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 2 | – | – | 7 | 3 | 13 |
| 2013 federal election | 22 Sep 2013 | – | 38.8 | 23.4 | 16.1 | 2.6 | 4.9 | 3.2 | 1.4 | 2.4 | 6.2 | 0.9 | 15.4 |
| Infratest dimap | 9–15 Aug 2013 | 1,002 | 43 | 20 | 20 | 2 | 7 | – | – | – | – | 8 | 23 |
| Infratest dimap | 27–30 Jun 2013 | 1,000 | 41 | 21 | 20 | 3 | 8 | – | – | 3 | – | 4 | 20 |
| Infratest dimap | 10–15 May 2012 | 1,000 | 35 | 23 | 24 | 2 | 6 | – | – | 6 | – | 4 | 11 |
| IfM Leipzig | 3–8 Aug 2011 | 1,005 | 33 | 25 | 20 | 4 | 11 | – | – | – | – | 7 | 8 |
| Infratest dimap | 28 Apr–2 May 2010 | 1,000 | 32 | 29 | 21 | 5 | 6 | – | – | – | – | 7 | 3 |
| 2009 federal election | 27 Sep 2009 | – | 31.2 | 28.8 | 17.6 | 9.8 | 6.0 | 3.2 | – | 2.5 | – | 1.0 | 2.4 |
| 2009 state election | 30 Aug 2009 | – | 31.2 | 27.4 | 18.5 | 7.6 | 6.2 | 4.3 | 3.9 | – | – | 0.9 | 3.7 |

## Results

Summary of the 2014 Landtag of Thuringia elections results :
| Party | Party | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– |
| | Christian Democratic Union | 315,096 | 33.46 | 2.3 | 34 | 4 |
| | The Left | 265,425 | 28.19 | 0.8 | 28 | 1 |
| | Social Democratic Party | 116,889 | 12.41 | 6.1 | 12 | 6 |
| | Alternative for Germany | 99,548 | 10.57 | New | 11 | New |
| | Alliance 90/The Greens | 53,395 | 5.67 | 0.5 | 6 | |
| | National Democratic Party | 34,018 | 3.61 | 0.7 | 0 | |
| | Free Democratic Party | 23,352 | 2.48 | 5.1 | 0 | 7 |
| | Others | 33,969 | 3.61 | 1.3 | 0 | |
| Total | Total | 941,692 | 100.00 | – | 91 | – |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 941,692 | 98.61 | 0.4 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 13,271 | 1.39 | 0.4 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 954,963 | 100.00 | – | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 1,812,249 | 52.69 | 3.5 | | |
Popular Vote
CDU
33.46%
DIE LINKE
28.19%
SPD
12.41%
AfD
10.57%
B'90/GRÜNE
5.67%
NPD
3.61%
FDP
2.48%
FW
1.68%
PIRATEN
1.03%
Other
0.90% :
Landtag seats
CDU
37.36%
DIE LINKE
30.77%
SPD
13.19%
AfD
12.09%
B'90/GRÜNE
6.59% :

## Outcome

While the incumbent grand coalition narrowly retained its majority, both parties underperformed expectations. This was especially true for the SPD, which recorded a result worse than it had polled at any point during the preceding five-year parliamentary term. For this reason, the SPD leadership decided to leave the coalition and seek other options. The most clear choice was a "red-red-green coalition" with The Left and Greens. Though this arrangement had successfully governed other states in the past, such a government had always been led by the SPD. Due to the dominance of The Left in Thuringia, however, the only viable option would be a government headed by Bodo Ramelow, leader of The Left. This was a highly controversial prospect due to the party's status as the successor of the Socialist Unity Party, the former ruling party of East Germany. Nonetheless, the SPD pursued the option. They resolved to seek approval from their party membership before signing any agreements, however, and held among the party membership for this purpose; 69.9% were in favour. The SPD therefore moved ahead with plans.
On 4 December, Ramelow was elected Minister-President by the Landtag on the second ballot, with a bare majority of 46 votes out of 91. Prior to the vote, thousands assembled outside the Landtag to protest the investiture of the government. Former East German dissidents were among the demonstrators, with some shouting "Stasi out!" and "The Social Democrats have betrayed us".