Die schleswig-holsteinische Landtagswahl vom 7. Mai 2017: Niederlage der „Küstenkoalition“ und erstmals „Jamaika“ im Norden

• Published in: Zeitschrift für Parlamentsfragen 2017-01, Vol.48 (3), p.575-593
• Main Author: Knelangen, Wilhelm
• Format: Article
• Language: eng ; ger
• Subjects: DOKUMENTATION UND ANALYSEN
• ISSN: 0340-1758; 1862-2534
• DOI: 10.5771/0340-1758-2017-3-575

Apart from some turbulence in the middle of the legislative period, the "Coastal Coalition", including the SPD, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and the SSW, was able to follow a stable and smooth course. Results in many previous elections in Schleswig-Holstein were narrow so that the parties had to expect that even minor changes in public opinion would be crucial. Nevertheless, the "Coastal Coalition" began the election campaign as the favorite since the opinion polls did not signal a change of mood but rather comparatively high satisfaction with governmental policy. Nevertheless, the CDU asserted itself not only as the strongest party in the state but also increased its share of the vote to 32 percent. In contrast, the SPD lost significantly. Bündnis 90/Die Grünen came close to confirming their share of the vote, while the FDP achieved the highest gains. The SSW, the party of the Danish minority, lost votes, whereas the AfD, a new right-wing populist party, entered the state parliament for the first time. The course was already set during the evening of the elections in the direction of a coalition between the CDU, Bündnis 90/Die Grünen and the FDP – their party colors are: black, green and yellow, hence "Jamaica". Daniel Günther was elected as the new minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein at the end of June 2017. As a result, the state is ruled by a governmental majority that transcends traditional party lines.