2017 Saarland state election


The 2017 Saarland state election was held on 26 March 2017 to elect the members of the Landtag of Saarland. The incumbent grand coalition of the Christian Democratic Union and Social Democratic Party led by Minister-President Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was returned with an increased majority.

Background

The 2012 state election was called after the collapse of the Jamaica coalition of the CDU, Free Democratic Party and The Greens. The election saw the collapse of the FDP, a downswing for The Left and Greens, gains for the SPD, and the entry of the Pirates. Afterwards, the CDU and SPD formed a grand coalition.

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the previous Landtag of Saarland.

Opinion polling

Party polling

Minister-President polling

Election result

Summary of the 26 March 2017 election results for the Landtag of Saarland
! colspan="2" | Party
! Votes
! %
! +/-
! Seats
! +/-
! Seats %
! colspan=8|
! align=right colspan=2| Total
! align=right| 533,783
! align=right| 100.0
! align=right|
! align=right| 51
! align=right| ±0
! align=right|
! align=right colspan=2| Voter turnout
! align=right|
! align=right| 69.7
! align=right| 8.1
! align=right|
! align=right|
! align=right|

Outcome

Observers were surprised by the CDU's strong performance, as opinion polls predicted a close contest between the CDU and SPD. After the election, several commentators described the results as a boost for the September 2017 electoral prospects of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the CDU, and as a setback for SPD leader Martin Schulz.
As both the CDU and SPD refused to coalition with AfD, the CDU and SPD coalition reached an agreement to continue governing together after the election.