# 2004 Brandenburg state election

The 2004 Brandenburg state election was held on 19 September 2004 to elect the members of the 4th Landtag of Brandenburg. The incumbent government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by Minister-President Matthias Platzeck was returned with a significantly reduced majority. The Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) moved into second place, although polls prior to the election suggested it would become the largest party. The CDU fell to third place.

## Background

The SPD had suffered losses in several state elections before Brandenburg. This was thought to be a consequence of the Agenda 2010 policy, a series of economic liberal economic reforms adopted by the federal SPD government led by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Many voters in eastern Germany turned to the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), while many in the west later turned to Labour and Social Justice, an SPD splinter party. In state elections, the SPD's growing unpopularity had chiefly benefited the CDU.
In Brandenburg, both Minister-President Matthias Platzeck (SPD) and his partner Jörg Schönbohm (CDU) supported Schröder's reforms. Both PDS and the German People's Union (DVU), which had entered the Landtag in 1999, campaigned in opposition.

## Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the 3rd Landtag of Brandenburg.
| Name | Name | Name | Ideology | Leader(s) | 1999 result | 1999 result |
| Name | Name | Name | Ideology | Leader(s) | Votes (%) | Seats |
| | SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands | Social democracy | Matthias Platzeck | 39.3% | 37 / 89 |
| | CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands | Christian democracy | Jörg Schönbohm | 26.5% | 25 / 89 |
| | PDS | Party of Democratic Socialism Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus | Democratic socialism | Dagmar Enkelmann | 23.3% | 22 / 89 |
| | DVU | German People's Union Deutsche Volksunion | German nationalism | | 5.3% | 5 / 89 |

## Opinion polling

| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample size | SPD | CDU | PDS | DVU | Grüne | FDP | Others | Lead |
| 2004 state election | 19 Sep 2004 | – | 31.9 | 19.4 | 28.0 | 6.1 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 7.7 | 3.9 |
| Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 6–9 Sep 2004 | 1,034 | 29 | 23 | 27 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 2 |
| Infratest dimap | 6–8 Sep 2004 | 1,000 | 27 | 24 | 31 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| Forsa | 30 Aug–4 Sep 2004 | 1,003 | 28 | 23 | 35 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 7 |
| Emnid | 30 Aug–1 Sep 2004 | 751 | 29 | 25 | 31 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 2 |
| Infratest | August 2004 | 1,000 | 28 | 22 | 34 | 3.5 | 5.5 | 4 | 3 | 6 |
| Forsa | 16–20 Aug 2004 | 1,009 | 27 | 22 | 36 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 9 |
| Infratest dimap | 5–9 Aug 2004 | 1,001 | 28 | 26 | 29 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 |
| Forsa | 29 Jul–5 Aug 2004 | 1,001 | 33 | 27 | 30 | – | 3 | 3 | 5 | 3 |
| Usuma | June 2004 | 1,007 | 31 | 36 | 22 | – | 5 | 4 | 2 | 5 |
| Forsa | May 2004 | 1,000 | 33 | 30 | 22 | – | 6 | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| Infratest dimap | 15–19 Mar 2004 | 1,001 | 30 | 34 | 20 | – | 5 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| Infratest dimap | 15–20 Oct 2003 | 1,000 | 34 | 32 | 19 | – | 4 | 6 | 5 | 2 |
| Infratest dimap | 9–15 Jun 2003 | 1,000 | 34 | 34 | 17 | – | 6 | 5 | 4 | Tie |
| Infratest dimap | 6–9 Mar 2003 | 1,000 | 36 | 35 | 17 | – | 4 | 5 | 3 | 1 |
| dimap | 15 Dec 2002 | ? | 34 | 36 | 20 | – | 4 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| Infratest dimap | 28 Aug–1 Sep 2002 | 1,000 | 46 | 23 | 20 | – | 6 | 3 | 2 | 23 |
| Infratest dimap | 24–25 Jun 2002 | 1,000 | 40 | 29 | 21 | – | 2 | 6 | 2 | 11 |
| Infratest dimap | 24–28 Apr 2002 | 1,000 | 35 | 30 | 24 | – | 2 | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Forsa | March 2002 | 1,014 | 37 | 28 | 24 | – | 3 | 3 | 5 | 9 |
| Infratest dimap | 9–14 Oct 2001 | 1,000 | 44 | 26 | 21 | – | 2 | 3 | 4 | 18 |
| Infratest dimap | April 2001 | ? | 45 | 25 | 21 | – | 2 | 3 | 4 | 20 |
| Infratest dimap | 28 Aug–2 Sep 2000 | 1,000 | 44 | 25 | 21 | – | 3 | 3 | 4 | 19 |
| Infratest dimap | 25–29 Apr 2000 | 1,000 | 42 | 26 | 23 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| 1999 state election | 5 Sep 1999 | – | 39.3 | 26.5 | 23.3 | 5.3 | 1.9 | 1.9 | 1.7 | 12.7 |

## Election result

Summary of the 19 September 2004 election results for the Landtag of Brandenburg :
| Party | Party | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– |
| | Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 372,942 | 31.91 | 7.42 | 33 | 4 |
| | Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) | 326,801 | 27.96 | 4.62 | 29 | 7 |
| | Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 227,062 | 19.43 | 7.12 | 20 | 5 |
| | German People's Union (DVU) | 71,041 | 6.08 | 0.80 | 6 | 1 |
| | Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne) | 42,091 | 3.60 | 1.72 | 0 | |
| | Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 38,890 | 3.33 | 1.47 | 0 | |
| | Family Party (FAMILIE) | 30,843 | 2.64 | 2.64 | 0 | |
| | Others | 59,239 | 5.07 | 3.37 | 0 | |
| Total | Total | 1,168,909 | 100.00 | – | 88 | – |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | | 56.4 | 2.1 | | |
Popular Vote
SPD
31.91%
PDS
27.96%
CDU
19.43%
DVU
6.08%
B'90/GRÜNE
3.60%
FDP
3.33%
FAMILIE
2.64%
Other
5.07% :
Landtag seats
SPD
37.50%
PDS
32.95%
CDU
22.73%
DVU
6.82% :