2005 German federal election
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All 614 seats in the Bundestag, including 16 overhang seats 308 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Registered | 61,870,711 0.7% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 48,044,134 (77.7%) 1.4pp | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The left side shows constituency winners of the election by their party colours. The right side shows party list winners of the election for the additional members by their party colours. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This article is part of a series on the |
Politics of Germany |
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The opposition
Both Schröder and Merkel claimed victory, but the formation of a new government required careful negotiations, as no conventional arrangement could achieve a majority. The CDU/CSU sought talks with the Greens, but were unable to find common ground. Discussions ultimately began for a grand coalition between the CDU/CSU and SPD. On 10 October, officials from both parties indicated that negotiations had concluded successfully and that they would form a coalition government with Angela Merkel as chancellor.[3] The Bundestag met on 22 November and Merkel was elected chancellor, with 397 votes in favour.[4]
Background
On 22 May 2005,
Early federal elections may only be held under two circumstances: if the Bundestag rejects a candidate for chancellor three times, or if a
Contesting parties
The table below lists parties represented in the 15th Bundestag:
Name | Ideology | Lead candidate |
2002 result | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes (%) | Seats | ||||||
SPD | Social Democratic Party of Germany Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands |
Social democracy | Gerhard Schröder | 38.5% | 251 / 603
| ||
CDU/CSU | CDU | Christian Democratic Union of Germany Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands |
Christian democracy | Angela Merkel | 38.5% | 248 / 603
| |
CSU | Christian Social Union in Bavaria[a] Christlich-Soziale Union in Bayern |
6.2%[b] | |||||
Grüne | Alliance 90/The Greens Bündnis 90/Die Grünen |
Green politics | Joschka Fischer | 8.6% | 55 / 603
| ||
FDP | Free Democratic Party Freie Demokratische Partei |
Classical liberalism | Guido Westerwelle | 7.4% | 47 / 603
| ||
Linke | The Left Party.PDS Die Linkspartei.PDS |
Democratic socialism | Gregor Gysi & Oskar Lafontaine |
4.0% | 2 / 603
|
Campaign
The
The SPD had the goal of maintaining the current deregulation agenda. They added to their election program some minor corrections such as broadening the financing base of the healthcare system and the proposal of a 3% additional tax for people with annual incomes above 250,000 euro (after the governing coalition earlier in 2005 cut the highest income tax rate from 48.5% to 42%).
The Greens decided on their program in July 2005. Compared to their previous federal election program, they increased the emphasis on economics and labour-market politics. For the first time this topic came before the classical green topic of environmental politics in the program. In general, the program moved slightly to the left; including stating the necessity for changes to some existing red-green governmental policies.
The
The leaders of the left wing
Two of Germany's small
Early election polls during summer 2005 from 6 organizations showed a solid lead for the
In early August support for Angela Merkel declined considerably. Reasons for this included conflicts about the election program in and between the conservative parties (the CDU and the CSU), and arguments with their preferred coalition partner, the FDP, as well as embarrassing gaffes. At one point the media criticized Merkel for confusing net and gross income figures during a campaign speech. Following this, polls suggested that the CDU/CSU and FDP would only win 48% of votes between them, and thus would not be able to form a government.[10] Further damage occurred when two prominent CDU/CSU candidates, Jörg Schönbohm and the CSU leader Edmund Stoiber, made insulting remarks about East Germans. These remarks not only alienated voters in Eastern Germany but also made some question the CDU/CSU's confidence in Merkel, as she herself grew up in the East.
However, polls carried out by the
On Sunday 4 September, Schröder and Merkel met in a head-to-head debate which was broadcast by four of Germany's major private and public television networks. Although most commentators gave the initial edge to Merkel, polls soon showed that the general public disagreed and ranked Schröder the clear winner. Later analysis suggested that Merkel's support for a flat-tax proposal by Paul Kirchhof, the shadow Finance Minister, further undermined her credibility on economic affairs and gave the impression that the CDU's economic reforms would only benefit the very rich.
Midweek polls showed the SPD clawing their way upwards by a few percentage points although the combined CDU/CSU and FDP votes tended to remain 1 to 2 percentage points ahead of those for the left-wing parties combined. On the eve of the election, the CDU enjoyed a 9% lead over the SPD (42% and 33% respectively), albeit with neither party likely to have enough seats (even with their preferred coalition partners) to form a government. Merkel's personal popularity (consistently below that of her party) had climbed back up to 40%, from a low of 30% while Schröder's had reached a peak of 53% (consistently exceeding that of his party). However, polls also showed that even at this late stage, a quarter of German voters had not yet decided how to vote and that these undecided voters could decide the final result if they turned out to vote. With polls still so close, the parties broke with tradition and continued campaigning on the Saturday before the election and on election day itself. While pundits focused on the likelihood of a grand coalition, the CDU suggested that the SPD might consent to forming a coalition with the new Left Party.
Opinion polls
All major opinion polling published in the week prior to the election indicated a clear victory for the CDU/CSU, with a result over 40%. The discrepancy between forecasts and the actual result led to criticism of the polling firms. The error was attributed to factors including the large number of undecided voters (up to 40% ahead of the election) and the increasing inaccuracy of traditional telephone-based survey methods.[11]
Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample size |
SPD | Union | Grüne | FDP | Linke | Others | Lead |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2005 federal election | 18 Sep 2005 | – | 34.2 | 35.2 | 8.1 | 9.8 | 8.7 | 4.0 | 1.0 |
Allensbach | 10–15 Sep 2005 | 1,682 | 32.5 | 41.5 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 8.5 | 2.5 | 9.0 |
Forsa | 12–16 Sep 2005 | 2,004 | 32−34 | 41−43 | 6−7 | 7−8 | 7−8 | − | 7−11 |
Emnid | 9–12 Sep 2005 | ~2,000 | 33.5 | 42.0 | 7.0 | 6.5 | 8.0 | 3.0 | 8.5 |
GMS | 7–10 Sep 2005 | 1,008 | 33 | 42 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 3 | 9 |
TNS Forschung | 6–7 Sep 2005 | 1,000 | 34 | 41 | 7 | 6.5 | 8.5 | 3 | 7 |
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen | 6–8 Sep 2005 | 1,299 | 34 | 41 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 3 | 7 |
2002 federal election | 22 Sep 2002 | – | 38.5 | 38.5 | 8.6 | 7.4 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 0.01 |
Vote
Germany went to the polls on 18 September 2005. Voters in one constituency in Dresden had to wait until 2 October to vote in order to allow the reprinting of ballot-papers after the death of the National Democratic Party candidate on 8 September.
Soon after voting ended, it became clear that the CDU/CSU (the "Union") had narrowly edged out the
The SPD/Green coalition's number of seats fell from 306 seats (in a house of 603), to 273 seats (in a house of 614) while the opposition, the CDU/CSU-FDP coalition's number of seats fell from 295 seats to 286 seats. Both potential coalitions fell far short of the 308 seats required for a majority in this Bundestag. The Left Party and the FDP overtook the Greens, previously Germany's third most-popular party since
The 2005 election was the last one until 2021 where the SPD won all single-member constituency seats in Saxony-Anhalt, Saarland as well as Brandenburg and the last time where they won any single-member constituency seats in Saxony-Anhalt. Only in the 2021 election, at the end of the Merkel era, would the SPD sweep all constituencies in Saarland and Brandenburg again and gain seats in Saxony-Anhalt.
Results
Party | Party-list | Constituency | Total seats | +/– | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | ||||
Social Democratic Party | 16,194,665 | 34.25 | 77 | 18,129,100 | 38.41 | 145 | 222 | −29 | |
Christian Democratic Union | 13,136,740 | 27.78 | 74 | 15,390,950 | 32.61 | 106 | 180 | −10 | |
Free Democratic Party | 4,648,144 | 9.83 | 61 | 2,208,531 | 4.68 | 0 | 61 | +14 | |
The Left Party.PDS | 4,118,194 | 8.71 | 51 | 3,764,168 | 7.98 | 3 | 54 | +52 | |
Alliance 90/The Greens | 3,838,326 | 8.12 | 50 | 2,538,913 | 5.38 | 1 | 51 | −4 | |
Christian Social Union | 3,494,309 | 7.39 | 2 | 3,889,990 | 8.24 | 44 | 46 | −12 | |
National Democratic Party | 748,568 | 1.58 | 0 | 857,777 | 1.82 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
The Republicans | 266,101 | 0.56 | 0 | 38,678 | 0.08 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
The Grays – Gray Panthers | 198,601 | 0.42 | 0 | 6,340 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Family Party | 191,842 | 0.41 | 0 | 76,064 | 0.16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Human Environment Animal Protection | 110,603 | 0.23 | 0 | 7,341 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Party of Bible-abiding Christians | 108,605 | 0.23 | 0 | 57,027 | 0.12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Marxist–Leninist Party | 45,238 | 0.10 | 0 | 16,480 | 0.03 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Bürgerrechtsbewegung Solidarität | 35,649 | 0.08 | 0 | 40,984 | 0.09 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Bavaria Party | 35,543 | 0.08 | 0 | 16,047 | 0.03 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Feminist Party | 27,497 | 0.06 | 0 | 1,327 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Alliance for Health, Peace and Social Justice | 21,350 | 0.05 | 0 | 570 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | New | |
Party for Social Equality | 15,605 | 0.03 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
50Plus | 10,536 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | New | ||||
Die PARTEI | 10,379 | 0.02 | 0 | 6,923 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | New | |
Pro DM | 10,269 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Alliance for Germany | 9,643 | 0.02 | 0 | 1,473 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Anarchist Pogo Party | 4,233 | 0.01 | 0 | 3,018 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Centre Party | 4,010 | 0.01 | 0 | 1,297 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Party for a Rule of Law Offensive | 3,338 | 0.01 | 0 | 5,401 | 0.01 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Independents for Citizen-oriented Democracy | 11,703 | 0.02 | 0 | 0 | New | ||||
Humanist Party | 2,029 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
German Social Union | 1,655 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Christian Centre | 1,011 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Human Economy Party | 639 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Statt Party | 496 | 0.00 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Independents and voter groups | 118,130 | 0.25 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
Total | 47,287,988 | 100.00 | 315 | 47,194,062 | 100.00 | 299 | 614 | +11 | |
Valid votes | 47,287,988 | 98.43 | 47,194,062 | 98.23 | |||||
Invalid/blank votes | 756,146 | 1.57 | 850,072 | 1.77 | |||||
Total votes | 48,044,134 | 100.00 | 48,044,134 | 100.00 | |||||
Registered voters/turnout | 61,870,711 | 77.65 | 61,870,711 | 77.65 |
Results by state
Second vote (Zweitstimme, or votes for party list)
State[12] results in % | SPD |
CSU |
FDP |
LINKE | GRÜNE |
NPD | all others |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baden-Württemberg | 30.1 | 39.2 | 11.9 | 3.8 | 10.7 | 1.1 | 3.2 |
Bavaria | 25.5 | 49.2 | 9.5 | 3.4 | 7.9 | 1.3 | 3.0 |
Berlin | 34.3 | 22.0 | 8.2 | 16.4 | 13.7 | 1.6 | 3.7 |
Brandenburg | 35.8 | 20.6 | 6.9 | 26.6 | 5.1 | 3.2 | 1.8 |
Bremen | 42.9 | 22.8 | 8.1 | 8.4 | 14.3 | 1.5 | 1.9 |
Hamburg | 38.7 | 28.9 | 9.0 | 6.3 | 14.9 | 1.0 | 1.1 |
Hesse | 35.6 | 33.7 | 11.7 | 5.3 | 10.1 | 1.2 | 2.3 |
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 31.7 | 29.6 | 6.3 | 23.7 | 4.0 | 3.5 | 1.1 |
Lower Saxony | 43.2 | 33.6 | 8.9 | 4.3 | 7.4 | 1.3 | 1.3 |
North Rhine-Westphalia | 40.0 | 34.4 | 10.0 | 5.2 | 7.6 | 0.8 | 2.0 |
Rhineland-Palatinate | 34.6 | 36.9 | 11.7 | 5.6 | 7.3 | 1.3 | 2.6 |
Saarland | 33.3 | 30.2 | 7.4 | 18.5 | 5.9 | 1.8 | 2.8 |
Saxony | 24.5 | 30.0 | 10.2 | 22.8 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 2.9 |
Saxony-Anhalt | 32.7 | 24.7 | 8.1 | 26.6 | 4.1 | 2.6 | 1.2 |
Schleswig-Holstein | 38.2 | 36.4 | 10.1 | 4.6 | 8.4 | 1.0 | 1.3 |
Thuringia | 29.8 | 25.7 | 7.9 | 26.1 | 4.8 | 3.7 | 2.0 |
Constituency seats
State | Total seats |
Seats won | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SPD | CDU | CSU | Linke | Grüne | ||
Baden-Württemberg | 37 | 4 | 33 | |||
Bavaria | 45 | 1 | 44 | |||
Berlin | 12 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
Brandenburg | 10 | 10 | ||||
Bremen | 2 | 2 | ||||
Hamburg | 6 | 6 | ||||
Hesse | 21 | 13 | 8 | |||
Lower Saxony | 29 | 25 | 4 | |||
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 7 | 4 | 3 | |||
North Rhine-Westphalia | 64 | 40 | 24 | |||
Rhineland-Palatinate | 15 | 5 | 10 | |||
Saarland | 4 | 4 | ||||
Saxony | 17 | 3 | 14 | |||
Saxony-Anhalt | 10 | 10 | ||||
Schleswig-Holstein | 11 | 5 | 6 | |||
Thuringia | 9 | 6 | 3 | |||
Total | 299 | 145 | 106 | 44 | 3 | 1 |
List seats
State | Total seats |
Seats won | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SPD | CDU | FDP | Linke | Grüne | CSU | ||
Baden-Württemberg | 39 | 19 | 9 | 3 | 8 | ||
Bavaria | 44 | 23 | 9 | 3 | 7 | 2 | |
Berlin | 10 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
Brandenburg | 11 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 1 | ||
Bremen | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||
Hamburg | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
Hesse | 22 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 5 | |
Lower Saxony | 33 | 2 | 17 | 6 | 3 | 5 | |
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 6 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | ||
North Rhine-Westphalia | 66 | 14 | 22 | 13 | 7 | 10 | |
Rhineland-Palatinate | 16 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | |
Saarland | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | |||
Saxony | 19 | 5 | 4 | 8 | 2 | ||
Saxony-Anhalt | 13 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 1 | ||
Schleswig-Holstein | 11 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | |
Thuringia | 9 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 1 | ||
Total | 315 | 77 | 74 | 61 | 51 | 50 | 2 |
Aftermath
Both
In the Elefantenrunde (elephant round) programme on election night featuring all party leaders, Schröder, in a memorable performance, insisted he had won on the basis of how far behind the SPD was in pre-election polls but managing to close the gap with the CDU/CSU to just one percent. Although the SPD still fell behind the CDU/CSU, he said "nobody but me is capable of building a stable coalition"[13] and accused the moderators of having "an intellectual problem". The chancellor then declared to Merkel "Under her leadership she will never get a coalition with my party" and insisted that the CDU and CSU should be treated as separate parties. His performance during the programme was criticized by the media, CDU/CSU and the FDP as "shocking", "egocentric", "arrogant" and "bizarre". The Berliner Kurier newspaper headline asked if Schröder was "intoxicated by his victory or did he have one glass of wine too many?".[14] Schröder himself later called his behavior "suboptimal" but denied he was drunk.[15]
The exclusion of the Left Party reduced the possible coalitions to the following three arrangements:
- SPD, FDP and Greens (called the traffic light coalition, after the colours used to symbolize those parties: red, yellow and green, respectively). (The SPD governed in coalition with the Greens from 1998 to 2005, and in coalition with the FDP from 1969 to 1982.)
- CDU/CSU, FDP and Greens (called the Jamaica coalition after those parties' colours: black, yellow and green, respectively, which also feature in the Jamaican national flag). (The CDU/CSU governed in coalition with the FDP from 1949 to 1956, from 1961 to 1966 and from 1982 to 1998; but neither party had worked with the Greens in federal government.)
- CDU/CSU and SPD (a grand coalition). (The CDU/CSU and SPD previously governed in a grand coalition from 1966 to 1969.)
Despite some prominent members publicly blaming Merkel for its poor showing, the CDU/CSU confirmed her as leader on 20 September.[16] On 22 September, following Schröder's election night comments, SPD members began musing that the political system should consider the CDU and the CSU as separate entities rather than as a single parliamentary faction. In such a scenario, the SPD would be the largest party in the Bundestag and thus, they argued, an SPD member should become chancellor in any grand coalition. One SPD legislator indicated he planned to introduce a motion in the Bundestag explicitly defining the CDU and the CSU as separate parties. The Greens rejected coalition with the CDU/CSU after talks broke down.[17] The CDU/CSU pressed their case for the Chancellery after victory in the delayed vote in Dresden, and ahead of talks with the SPD; the SPD maintained their own claim, but Schröder indicated that he would step aside if his party wished it.[18]
Finally, on 10 October, officials from the CDU/CSU and the SPD announced that negotiations to form a grand coalition had succeeded. Angela Merkel would become chancellor and the sixteen seats in the new
Detailed negotiations on the formation of the new government continued into November, with Edmund Stoiber of the CSU withdrawing from the proposed cabinet to continue as Minister-president of Bavaria. All three parties held conferences on 14 November which voted to approve the deal.[23] The majority of CDU/CSU and SPD delegates in the newly assembled Bundestag elected Merkel as chancellor on 22 November.[24] 397 members of the Bundestag voted for Merkel, indicating that 51 members from one or more of the SPD, CDU or CSU do not support the coalition deal.
This section needs to be updated.(May 2012) |
Reports have indicated that the grand coalition would pursue a mix of policies, some of which directly contradict aspects of Merkel's political platform as a former leader of the opposition and candidate for chancellor. The coalition intended to cut public spending while increasing
See also
Further reading
- Langenbacher, Eric, ed. Launching the Grand Coalition: The 2005 Bundestag Election and the Future of German Politics (2007) excerpt and text search
- Proksch, Sven-Oliver; Jonathan B. Slapin (May 2006). "Institutions and coalition formation: The German election of 2005". S2CID 153883554.
- Pulzer, Peter (May 2006). "Germany votes for deadlock: The federal election of 2005". S2CID 154068459.
Notes
- ^ The Christian Democratic Union and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria call themselves sister parties. They do not compete against each other in the same geographical regions and they form one group within the Bundestag.
- ^ CSU received 49.2% in Bavaria. It only fields candidates in Bavaria, where the CDU does not field candidates.
References
- ^ "Early Elections in Germany". Deutsche Welle. 23 May 2005. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ Richard Bernstein (23 May 2005). "German Leader, Losing a State, Calls for Early Election by Fall". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 September 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
- ^ "German parties back new coalition". BBC. 14 November 2005. Archived from the original on 11 January 2009. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ "Merkel becomes German Chancellor". BBC. 22 November 2005. Archived from the original on 9 December 2005. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
- ^ "Schröder wants new elections". Die Spiegel. 22 May 2005. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ^ "Chancellor between trust and distrust". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. 25 May 2005. Archived from the original on 30 November 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ^ "Schröder forges strategy on confidence vote". The New York Times. 1 July 2005.
- ^ "Reuters.com". Reuters. Archived from the original on 11 September 2005.
- ^ "Wahlumfragen zur Bundestagswahl". Wahlrecht.de (in German). Archived from the original on 13 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
- ^ Paterson, Tony (9 August 2005). "Merkel victory in doubt as gaffes erode support". The Independent. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- ^ Reinecke, Stefan (23 September 2009). "The drug public opinion poll". Die Tageszeitung: Taz. Die Tageszeitung. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
- ^ The Federal Returning Officer. "The Federal Returning Officer". www.bundeswahlleiter.de. Archived from the original on 22 December 2015.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "Germany Election Playbook: Weber woos smaller parties — Berlin blunders on — Old elephants in the room". politico.eu. 30 September 2021. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
- ^ "Belligerent Schroeder in TV talk show draws fire". Expatica. 20 September 2005. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "Bundestag election 2005 – When the Merkel era began with Schröder's rumble". latestpagenews.com. 18 September 2021. Archived from the original on 28 September 2021. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
- ^ "Merkel boosted by party support". BBC News. 20 September 2005. Archived from the original on 15 March 2006. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ "German Greens spurn CDU alliance". BBC News. 23 September 2005. Archived from the original on 15 March 2006. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ "German CDU pushes leadership bid". BBC News. 3 October 2005. Archived from the original on 30 June 2006. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ "CNN.com – Schroeder aide is foreign minister – Oct 13, 2005". Archived from the original on 15 October 2005. Retrieved 8 November 2016.
- ^ Breaking News, Business News, Financial and Investing News & More | Reuters.co.uk[dead link]
- ^ "Merkel named as German chancellor". BBC News. 10 October 2005. Archived from the original on 13 March 2007. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ "Business & Financial News". Reuters. Archived from the original on 20 June 2005. Retrieved 10 October 2005.
- ^ "German parties back new coalition". BBC News. 14 November 2005. Archived from the original on 11 January 2009. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ "Merkel becomes German chancellor". BBC News. 22 November 2005. Archived from the original on 9 December 2005. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ "German coalition poised for power". BBC News. 11 November 2005. Archived from the original on 25 November 2005. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
- ^ "Merkel defends German reform plan". BBC News. 12 November 2005. Archived from the original on 15 March 2006. Retrieved 3 May 2010.
External links
- (in German) Official Results from the Federal Election Officer
- Results summary in English
- Deutsche Welle's latest news and podcasts on the 2005 German election
- (in German) Results at tagesschau.de
- (in German) Historische-Wahlplakate.de Among others Election Posters from German Federal Election 2005
- http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,369430,00.html[permanent dead link]
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4144812.stm
- http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,1564,1676848,00.html
- Poll results
- (in German) Wahlen in Deutschland
- (in German) Umfragen zur Bundestagswahl (Sonntagsfrage)