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1961 West German federal election: Difference between revisions

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| country = West Germany
| country = West Germany
| type = parliamentary
| type = parliamentary
⚫
| previous_election = West German federal election
| ongoing = no
⚫
| previous_year =
⚫
| previous_election = 1949 West German federal election
⚫
| election_date = {{Start date||09||df=y}}
⚫
| previous_year = 1949
⚫
| next_election = West German federal election
⚫
| election_date = {{Start date|1953|09|06|df=y}}
⚫
| next_year =
⚫
| next_election = 1957 West German federal election
⚫
| = List of members of the Bundestag
⚫
| next_year = 1957
| outgoing_members = List of members of the 1st Bundestag
| = List of members of the Bundestag
⚫
| seats_for_election = All seats in the [[Bundestag]]{{Efn|As well as the 22 [[:de:Berliner Bundestagsabgeordneter|non-voting delegates for West Berlin]], elected by the West Berlin Legislature.}}
⚫
| elected_members = List of members of the 2nd Bundestag
⚫
| majority_seats =
⚫
| seats_for_election = All 487 seats in the [[Bundestag]]{{Efn|As well as the 22 [[:de:Berliner Bundestagsabgeordneter|non-voting delegates for West Berlin]], elected by the West Berlin Legislature.}}
⚫
| registered = ,, {{increase}} .%
⚫
| majority_seats = 244
⚫
| turnout = .% {{}} .[[percentage point|pp]]
⚫
| registered = 33,120,940 {{increase}} 6.1%
⚫
| turnout = 28,479,550 (86.0%) {{increase}} 7.5[[percentage point|pp]]


⚫
| = {{CSS image crop|Image = .jpg|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
<!-- KPD -->
⚫
| candidate1 = [[ ]]
⚫
| image1 = {{CSS image crop|Image =Bundesarchiv Bild 183-S99067, Berlin, III. SED-Parteitag (cropped).jpg|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
| party1 = CDU/CSU
⚫
| candidate1 = [[Max Reimann]]
⚫
| last_election1 = .%, seats
| party1 = Communist Party of Germany
⚫
| seats1 = {{Efn|As well as [[:de:Berliner Bundestagsabgeordneter|non-voting delegates for West Berlin]].}}
⚫
| last_election1 = 5.7%, 15 seats
⚫
| seat_change1 = {{}}
⚫
| seats1 = 487{{Efn|As well as 11 [[:de:Berliner Bundestagsabgeordneter|non-voting delegates for West Berlin]].}}
⚫
| popular_vote1 = ,,
⚫
| seat_change1 = {{increase}} 472
⚫
| percentage1 = .%
⚫
| popular_vote1 = 28,358,987
⚫
| swing1 = {{decrease}} .
⚫
| percentage1 = 99.5%
⚫
| swing1 = {{decrease}} 0.4pp


⚫
| image2 = {{CSS image crop|Image = .jpg|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
<!-- SPD -->
⚫
| candidate2 = [[ ]]
⚫
| image2 = {{CSS image crop|Image =Bundesarchiv Bild 183-21272-0001, Erich Ollenhauer.jpg|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
⚫
| candidate2 = [[Erich Ollenhauer]]
| party2 = Social Democratic Party of Germany
| party2 = Social Democratic Party of Germany
| last_election2 = 29.2%, 131 seats
| last_election2 = .%, seats
| seats2 = 151{{Efn|As well as 11 [[:de:Berliner Bundestagsabgeordneter|non-voting delegates for West Berlin]].}}
| seats2 = {{Efn|As well as [[:de:Berliner Bundestagsabgeordneter|non-voting delegates for West Berlin]].}}
| seat_change2 = {{increase}} 20
| seat_change2 = {{increase}}
| popular_vote2 = 64,346
| popular_vote2 = ,
| percentage2 = 0.2%
| percentage2 = .2%
| swing2 = {{decrease}} 0.4pp
| swing2 = {{}} .4pp


⚫
| = {{CSS image crop|Image =Bundesarchiv Bild 183-, .jpg|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
<!-- FDP -->
⚫
| candidate3 = [[ ]]
| image3 = {{CSS image crop|Image =Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-P001512, Franz Blücher 2.jpg|bSize = 125|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 2}}
⚫
| candidate3 = [[Franz Blücher]]
| party3 = Free Democratic Party (Germany)
| party3 = Free Democratic Party (Germany)
| last_election3 = 11.9%, 52 seats
| last_election3 = .%, seats
| seats3 = 67
| seats3 = 48{{Efn|As well as 5 [[:de:Berliner Bundestagsabgeordneter|non-voting delegates for West Berlin]].}}
| seat_change3 = {{decrease}} 4
| seat_change3 = {{}}
| popular_vote3 = 0
| popular_vote3 =
| percentage3 = 0.1%
| percentage3 = .%
| swing3 = {{decrease}} 2.4pp
| swing3 = {{}} .


⚫
| map_image = German federal election - Results by constituency.svg
<!-- GB/BHE -->
| image4 = <div style="width:115px;"><span style="line-height:150px; vertical-align:center; text-align:center; color:{{party color|All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights}}; font-size:28px;"> '''GB/BHE''' </span></div>
| candidate4 = [[Waldemar Kraft]]
| party4 = All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights
| last_election4 = ''Did not exist''
| seats4 = 27
| seat_change4 = ''New party''
| popular_vote4 = 27,323
| percentage4 = 0.2%
| swing4 = ''New party''

<!-- DP -->
⚫
| image5 = {{CSS image crop|Image =Heinrich Hellwege.jpg|bSize = 120|cWidth = 120|cHeight = 160|oTop = 0|oLeft = 0}}
| candidate5 = [[Heinrich Hellwege]]
| party5 = German Party (1947)
| last_election5 = 4.0%, 17 seats
| seats5 = 15
| seat_change5 = {{decrease}} 2
| popular_vote5 = 0
| percentage5 = 0.1%
| swing5 = {{decrease}} 3.9pp

<!-- Zentrum -->
| image6 = <div style="width:115px;"><span style="line-height:150px; vertical-align:center; text-align:center; color:#0047AB; font-size:28px;"> '''Zentrum''' </span></div>
| candidate6 = [[:de:Johannes Brockmann|Johannes Brockmann]]
| party6 = Centre Party (Germany, 1945)
| color6 = 0047AB
| last_election6 = 3.1%, 10 seats
| seats6 = 3
| seat_change6 = {{decrease}} 7
| popular_vote6 = 0
| percentage6 = 0%
| swing6 = {{decrease}} 2.3pp

<!-- Map -->
⚫
| map_image = 1953 German federal election - Results by constituency.svg
| map_size = 333px
| map_size = 333px
| map_caption = The left side shows the winning party vote in the constituencies, the right side shows the seats won by parties in each of the states. The pie chart over West Berlin shows the partisan composition of its legislature.
| map_caption = seats by . The pie chart over West Berlin shows the composition of its legislature.


<!-- Result -->
| title = [[Cabinet of Germany|Government]]
| title = [[Cabinet of Germany|Government]]
| before_election = [[First Adenauer cabinet]]
| before_election = [[ Adenauer cabinet]]
| before_party = [[CDU/CSU]]–[[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|FDP]]–[[German Party (1947)|DP]]
| before_party = [[CDU/CSU]]
| posttitle = Government after election
| posttitle = Government after election
| after_election = [[Second Adenauer cabinet]]
| after_election = [[ Adenauer cabinet]]
| after_party = [[CDU/CSU]]–[[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|FDP]]–[[All-German Bloc/League of Expellees and Deprived of Rights|GB/BHE]]–[[German Party (1947)|DP]]
| after_party = [[CDU/CSU]]–[[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|FDP]]
}}{{politics of Germany}}
}}

[[Elections in Germany#German elections since 1949|Federal elections]] were held in [[West Germany]] on 6 September 1953 to elect the members of the second [[Bundestag]]. The [[Christian Democratic Union (Germany)|Christian Democratic Union]] (CDU) emerged as the largest party.


[[Federal elections in Germany|Federal elections]] were held in [[West Germany]] on 17 September 1961 to elect the members of the fourth [[Bundestag]]. The [[CDU/CSU]] remained the largest faction, winning 242 of the 499 seats. However, the loss of its majority and the [[German Party (1947)|All-German Party]] losing all its seats led to the CDU having to negotiate a coalition with the long-term junior coalition partner, the [[Free Democratic Party (Germany)|Free Democratic Party]], leading to a demand for long-term chancellor Konrad Adenauer to leave office in 1963, halfway through his term.
The KPD won a landslide victory which led to Kondrad Adenauer consolidating the forces of reaction, eventually leading up to the White Terror. The Communists were well aware that they could not enact their revolutionary programme within the confines of the bourgeois system, fortunately they were well prepared for the ensuing civil war.


==Campaign==
==Campaign==
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! style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};" |
! style="background:{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}};" |
! style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}};" |
! style="background:{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}};" |
! style="background:{{party color|Christian Social Unon in Bavaria}};" |
! style="background:{{party color|Christian Social in Bavaria}};" |
|-
|-
! style="text-align: left;" |[[Baden-Württemberg]]
! style="text-align: left;" |[[Baden-Württemberg]]

Revision as of 02:10, 29 September 2024

1961 West German federal election
← 1957 17 September 1961 (1961-09-17) 1965 →
All 499 seats in the Bundestag[a]
250 seats needed for a majority
Registered37,440,715 (Increase 5.8%)
Turnout87.7% (Decrease 0.1pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Audenauer, Bestanddeelnr 912-8736.jpg
Willy Brandt.jpg
Bundesarchiv Bild 183-87989-0060, Erich Mende.jpg
Candidate Konrad Adenauer Willy Brandt Erich Mende
Party CDU/CSU SPD FDP
Last election 50.2%, 270 seats 31.8%, 169 seats 7.7%, 41 seats
Seats won 242[b] 190[c] 67
Seat change Decrease 28 Increase 21 Increase 26
Popular vote 14,298,372 11,427,355 4,028,766
Percentage 45.3% 36.2% 12.8%
Swing Decrease 4.9pp Increase 4.4pp Increase 5.1pp
Results by constituency (left) and seats by state (right). The pie chart over West Berlin shows the composition of its legislature.
Government before election

Third Adenauer cabinet
CDU/CSU

Government after election

Fourth Adenauer cabinet
CDU/CSU–FDP

This article is part of a series on the
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Federal elections were held in West Germany on 17 September 1961 to elect the members of the fourth Bundestag. The CDU/CSU remained the largest faction, winning 242 of the 499 seats. However, the loss of its majority and the All-German Party losing all its seats led to the CDU having to negotiate a coalition with the long-term junior coalition partner, the Free Democratic Party, leading to a demand for long-term chancellor Konrad Adenauer to leave office in 1963, halfway through his term.

Campaign

Election posters

For the first time, the SPD announced a Chancellor candidate who was not chairman of the party: Willy Brandt, the Governing Mayor of West Berlin. After the building of the Berlin Wall, he gained more and more sympathy, while chancellor Konrad Adenauer was criticised for not showing enough support for the people of West Berlin. Adenauer had to save the absolute majority of CDU and CSU, but, considering his age and his long term as chancellor, there were big doubts if he should lead the country in a fourth term.

Results

PartyParty-listConstituencySeats
Votes%SeatsVotes%SeatsElectedWest BerlinTotal+/–
Social Democratic Party11,427,35536.229911,672,05736.479119013203+22
Christian Democratic Union11,283,90135.767811,622,99536.321141929201−21
Free Democratic Party4,028,76612.77673,866,26912.08067067+24
Christian Social Union3,014,4719.5583,104,7429.704250050−5
All-German Party870,7562.760859,2902.680000−17
German Peace Union [de]609,9181.930587,4881.8400000
Deutsche Reichspartei262,9770.830242,6490.7600000
German Community [de]27,3080.09021,0830.0700000
South Schleswig Voters' Association25,4490.08024,9510.0800000
Electoral Group for a Neutral Germany7780.000000New
Independents and voter groups2,1640.0100000
Total31,550,901100.0025232,004,466100.0024749922521+2
Valid votes31,550,90196.0532,004,46697.43
Invalid/blank votes1,298,7233.95845,1582.57
Total votes32,849,624100.0032,849,624100.00
Registered voters/turnout37,440,71587.7437,440,71587.74
Source: Bundeswahlleiter

Results by state

Constituency seats

State Total
seats 		Seats won
CDU SPD CSU
Baden-Württemberg 33 27 6
Bavaria 47 5 42
Bremen 3 3
Hamburg 8 8
Hesse 22 3 19
Lower Saxony 34 15 19
North Rhine-Westphalia 66 41 25
Rhineland-Palatinate 15 10 5
Saarland 5 5
Schleswig-Holstein 14 13 1
Total 247 114 91 42

List seats

State Total
seats 		Seats won
SPD CDU FDP CSU
Baden-Württemberg 33 16 5 12
Bavaria 39 23 8 8
Bremen 2 1 1
Hamburg 10 1 6 3
Hesse 23 2 14 7
Lower Saxony 26 6 11 9
North Rhine-Westphalia 89 35 35 19
Rhineland-Palatinate 16 6 6 4
Saarland 4 3 1
Schleswig-Holstein 10 7 3
Total 252 99 78 67 8

Aftermath

The absolute majority was lost by the conservative union due to the gains of the liberal FDP under Erich Mende. From 1961 on, the Union, SPD and FDP established an electoral "triopoly" in the Bundestag that would last until 1983.

Konrad Adenauer remained Chancellor, building a coalition between the CDU/CSU-FDP. In 1962 he had to announce a fifth cabinet: The FDP had temporarily left the coalition after the secretary of defense, Franz Josef Strauß (CSU), had ordered the arrest of five journalists for publishing a memo detailing alleged weaknesses in the German armed forces (known as the Spiegel scandal). In 1963 Adenauer finally retired; Ludwig Erhard took over his position as head of the coalition government.

Further reading

  • Barnes, Samuel H.; Grace, Frank; Pollock, James K.; Sperlich, Peter W. (1962). "The German Party System and the 1961 Federal Election". American Political Science Review. 56 (4): 899–914. doi:10.2307/1952792. JSTOR 1952792.

Notes

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1961 Germany Bundestagswahl.
  1. ^ As well as the 22 non-voting delegates for West Berlin, elected by the West Berlin Legislature.
  2. ^ As well as 9 non-voting delegates for West Berlin.
  3. ^ As well as 13 non-voting delegates for West Berlin.

References

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