2007 Bremen state election

2007 Bremen state election

13 May 2007
All 83 seats in the Bürgerschaft of Bremen 42 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	275,816 (57.6%) 3.7%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Jens Böhrnsen Thomas Röwekamp Karoline Linnert Party SPD CDU Greens Last election 40 seats, 42.3% 29 seats, 29.8% 12 seats, 12.8% Seats won 32 23 14 Seat change 8 6 2 Popular vote 101,290 70,728 45,493 Percentage 36.7% 25.6% 16.5% Swing 5.6% 4.2% 3.7%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Peter Erlanson Magnus Buhlert Siegfried Tittmann Party Left FDP DVU Last election 0 seats, 1.7% 1 seat, 4.2% 1 seat, 2.3% Seats won 7 5 1 Seat change 7 4 0 Popular vote 23,382 16,486 7,536 Percentage 8.4% 6.0% 2.7% Swing 6.7% 1.8% 0.4%   Seventh party   Leader Jan Timke Party Citizens in Rage Last election 0 seats, 4.4% Seats won 1 Seat change 1 Popular vote 2,336 Percentage 0.8% Swing 3.6%
Mayor before election Jens Böhrnsen SPD Elected Mayor Jens Böhrnsen SPD

The 2007 Bremen state election was held on 13 May 2007 to elect the members of the Bürgerschaft of Bremen, as well as the city councils of Bremen and Bremerhaven. The incumbent government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) retained its majority with losses. However, the SPD chose to form a new government with The Greens. Jens Böhrnsen was re-elected as Mayor.

This was the first election contested by The Left after the merger of the PDS and WASG. The new party achieved 8.4% of the vote, up from 1.7% for PDS in 2003, marking its first major success in a western state.

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Bürgerschaft of Bremen.

Name			Ideology	Leader(s)	2003 result
					Votes (%)	Seats
	SPD	Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands	Social democracy	Jens Böhrnsen	42.3%	40 / 83
	CDU	Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands	Christian democracy	Thomas Röwekamp	29.8%	29 / 83
	Grüne	Alliance 90/The Greens Bündnis 90/Die Grünen	Green politics	Karoline Linnert	12.8%	12 / 83
	FDP	Free Democratic Party Freie Demokratische Partei	Classical liberalism	Magnus Bulhert	4.2%	1 / 83
	DVU	German People's Union Deutsche Volksunion	German nationalism	Siegfried Tittmann	2.3%	1 / 83

Opinion polling

Polling firm	Fieldwork date	Sample size	SPD	CDU	Grüne	FDP	DVU	Linke	Others	Lead
2007 state election	13 May 2007	–	36.7	25.6	16.5	6.0	2.7	8.4	4.0	11.1
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen	30 Apr–3 May 2007	1,036	40	28	14	6	4	4.5	3.5	12
Infratest dimap	23–25 Apr 2007	1,000	42	26	14.5	5	2	5.5	5	16
Emnid	14–22 Feb 2005	1,400	38	28	16	6	3	4	5	10
2003 state election	25 May 2003	–	42.3	29.8	12.8	4.2	2.3	1.7	6.9	12.5

Election result

Summary of the 13 May 2007 election results for the Bürgerschaft of Bremen

Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats
					Bremen	Bremerhaven	Total seats	+/-
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	101,290	36.72	-5.6	27	5	32	-8
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	70,728	25.64	-4.2	19	4	23	-6
	Alliance 90/The Greens (Grüne)	45,493	16.49	+3.7	12	2	14	+2
	The Left (Linke)	23,282	8.44	+6.7	6	1	7	+7
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	16,486	5.98	+1.8	4	1	5	+4
	German People's Union (DVU)	7,536	2.73	+0.4	0	1	1	±0
	Citizens in Rage (BiW)	2,336	0.85	-3.6	0	1	1	+1
	Bremen Must Live	4,462	1.62	+1.6	0	0	0	±0
	Others	4,203	1.52		0	0	0	±0
Total		275,816	100.00	–	68	15	83	0

Popular Vote SPD   36.72% CDU   25.64% B'90/GRÜNE   16.49% DIE LINKE   8.44% FDP   5.98% DVU   2.73% BmL   1.62% BiW   0.85% Other   1.52%

Bürgerschaft seats SPD   38.55% CDU   27.71% B'90/GRÜNE   16.87% DIE LINKE   8.43% FDP   6.02% DVU   1.20% BiW   1.20%