As the election was held in Germany's most populous state, it was seen as a test of the federal CDU–FDP government's performance after seven months in office. The government was accused of being indecisive as the two coalition partners had different aims. As the Bundesrat is made up of representatives from the states, the federal government also risked losing its narrow Bundesrat majority in this election. Other factors in the election were the proposed EU bailout of Greece as well as a fundraising scandal in the governing party and debate over the state's education policy.
Parties
The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Opinion polling
Election result
The turnout of 59.3% was the second lowest of any North Rhine-Westphalia state election. Both major parties did poorly; the CDU achieved its worst ever result, while the SPD achieved its worst result since 1950. The main beneficiaries of the election were parties to the left of the SPD, the Greens and The Left, the latter winning seats for the first time. The success of The Left marked the first time since 1950 that a left-wing party had entered the state Landtag. Summary of the 9 May 2010 election results for the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia ! colspan="2" | Party ! Votes ! % ! +/- ! Seats ! +/- ! Seats % ! colspan=8| ! align=right colspan=2| Total ! align=right| 7,760,546 ! align=right| 100.0 ! align=right| ! align=right| 181 ! align=right| 6 ! align=right| ! align=right colspan=2| Voter turnout ! align=right| ! align=right| 59.3 ! align=right| 3.7 ! align=right| ! align=right| ! align=right|
Outcome
The outcome of the election was similar to the 2008 Hessian state election, with both the CDU and SPD winning the same number of seats, and neither the incumbent government or SPD–Green opposition acquiring a majority due to the presence of The Left. The SPD–Green bloc came up one seat short of a majority, while the CDU–FDP bloc was ten seats short. There was speculation of a possible grand coalition between the SPD and CDU, an SPD-Green–Left arrangement, or an SPD–Green–FDP "traffic light coalition". On 15 May, the FDP declined an offer to enter talks with the SPD and Greens, saying the offer "obviously lacked seriousness" as the two parties had, on the same day, made a similar offer to The Left. By 23 May, negotiations between the three left-of-centre parties appeared to have broken down. This prompted the FDP to enter negotiations with the SPD and Greens. At the same time, talks for a grand coalition between the SPD and CDU were taking place. Ultimately, no deal could be reached with the FDP, CDU, or Left. The SPD and Greens reached an agreement to form a minority coalition government, and on 14 July, the Landtag formally elected Hannelore Kraft as Minister-President.
