# 1980 West German federal election

Federal elections were held in West Germany on 5 October 1980 to elect the members of the 9th Bundestag. Although the CDU/CSU remained the largest faction in parliament, Helmut Schmidt of the Social Democratic Party remained Chancellor.

## Issues and campaign

Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of the SPD-FDP coalition wanted to be re-elected. The CDU/CSU candidate for Chancellor was CSU leader Franz Josef Strauß. It was the first time that their candidate was from the CSU. Strauß, immensely popular in Bavaria, found it difficult to appeal to people in other parts of Germany. One important reason for Strauss's unpopularity compared to Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, was his tendency to talk sharply and militantly about his political opponents. Schmidt, by contrast, was still seen by many West German voters as a moderate and practical manager and doer, who focused on getting concrete political and economic results more than on political rhetoric.

## Results

Seats :
| Party | Party | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Elected | West Berlin | Total | +/– |
| | Social Democratic Party | 16,260,677 | 42.86 | 91 | 16,808,861 | 44.46 | 127 | 218 | 10 | 228 | +4 |
| | Christian Democratic Union | 12,989,200 | 34.24 | 93 | 13,467,207 | 35.62 | 81 | 174 | 11 | 185 | –16 |
| | Free Democratic Party | 4,030,999 | 10.62 | 53 | 2,720,480 | 7.20 | 0 | 53 | 1 | 54 | +14 |
| | Christian Social Union | 3,908,459 | 10.30 | 12 | 3,941,365 | 10.43 | 40 | 52 | 0 | 52 | –1 |
| | The Greens | 569,589 | 1.50 | 0 | 732,619 | 1.94 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | German Communist Party | 71,600 | 0.19 | 0 | 107,158 | 0.28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | National Democratic Party | 68,096 | 0.18 | 0 | | | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | Citizens' Party | 11,256 | 0.03 | 0 | 507 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | People's Front Against Reaction, Fascism and War | 9,319 | 0.02 | 0 | 7,160 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Communist League of West Germany | 8,174 | 0.02 | 0 | 12,008 | 0.03 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | European Workers' Party | 7,666 | 0.02 | 0 | 4,992 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | Christian Bavarian People's Party | 3,946 | 0.01 | 0 | | | | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | German Union | | | | 421 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Independent Workers' Party | | | | 159 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| | German Freedom Party | | | | 96 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New |
| | Independents and voter groups | | | | 3,498 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 37,938,981 | 100.00 | 249 | 37,806,531 | 100.00 | 248 | 497 | 22 | 519 | +1 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 37,938,981 | 99.08 | | 37,806,531 | 98.73 | | | | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 353,115 | 0.92 | | 485,645 | 1.27 | | | | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 38,292,096 | 100.00 | | 38,292,176 | 100.00 | | | | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 43,231,741 | 88.57 | | 43,231,741 | 88.57 | | | | | |
| Source: Bundeswahlleiter ||||||||||||

### Results by state
#### Constituency seats

| State | Total seats | Seats won | Seats won | Seats won |
| State | Total seats | SPD | CDU | CSU |
| Baden-Württemberg | 37 | 6 | 31 | |
| Bavaria | 45 | 5 | | 40 |
| Bremen | 3 | 3 | | |
| Hamburg | 7 | 7 | | |
| Hesse | 22 | 19 | 3 | |
| Lower Saxony | 31 | 23 | 8 | |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 71 | 44 | 27 | |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 16 | 6 | 10 | |
| Saarland | 5 | 3 | 2 | |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 11 | 11 | | |
| Total | 248 | 127 | 81 | 40 |

#### List seats

| State | Total seats | Seats won | Seats won | Seats won | Seats won |
| State | Total seats | CDU | SPD | FDP | CSU |
| Baden-Württemberg | 35 | 5 | 21 | 9 | |
| Bavaria | 44 | | 25 | 7 | 12 |
| Bremen | 1 | 1 | | | |
| Hamburg | 6 | 4 | | 2 | |
| Hesse | 24 | 16 | 3 | 5 | |
| Lower Saxony | 32 | 18 | 7 | 7 | |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 76 | 33 | 26 | 17 | |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 16 | 5 | 8 | 3 | |
| Saarland | 3 | 2 | 1 | | |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 12 | 9 | | 3 | |
| Total | 249 | 93 | 91 | 53 | 12 |

## Post-election

The coalition between the SPD and the FDP returned to government, with Helmut Schmidt as Chancellor. In 1982, the FDP quit the government, which led to the government's collapse and replacement with a new CDU/CSU – FDP coalition under Helmut Kohl.