West German federal election, 1983

German federal election, 1983

1980 ← 6 March 1983 (1983-03-06) → 1987

All 520 seats in the Bundestag 261 seats were needed for a majority   First party Second party Third party   Leader Helmut Kohl Hans-Jochen Vogel Hans-Dietrich Genscher Party CDU/CSU SPD FDP Leader since 1973 - 1974 Last election 237 seats 228 seats 54 seats Seats won 255 202 35 Seat change 18 26 19 Popular vote 18,998,545 14,865,807 2,706,942 Percentage 48.8% 38.2% 6.9% Swing 4.3% 4.7% 3.7%   Fourth party   Party Green Last election 0 seats Seats won 28 Seat change 28 Popular vote 2,167,431 Percentage 5.6% Swing 4.1%

Chancellor before election Helmut Kohl CDU/CSU Elected Chancellor Helmut Kohl CDU/CSU

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German federal elections took place on 6 March 1983, to elect members to the 10th Bundestag (parliament) of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Issues and campaign

In October 1982 CDU chairman Helmut Kohl was elected Chancellor by a CDU/CSU and FDP majority in the Bundestag, while the FDP in 1980 still was on the side of the SPD. Early elections were arranged. The SPD encountered difficulties because on the left a new party was emerging, the Greens.

A major issue in this election was the armament question after the NATO Double-Track Decision.

Results

 Summary of the 6 March 1983 German Bundestag election results

Parties		Constituency					Party list					Total seats
		Votes	%	+/−	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−	Seats	+/−	Seats	+/−	%
	Social Democratic Party (SPD)	15,686,033	40.4	-4.1	68	-59	14,865,807	38.2	-4.7	125	+34	202	-26	38.9
	Christian Democratic Union (CDU)	15,943,460	41.0	+5.4	136	+55	14,857,680	38.1	+3.9	55	-38	202	+17	38.9
	Christian Social Union (CSU)	4,318,800	11.1	+0.7	44	+4	4,140,865	10.6	+0.3	9	-3	53	+1	10.2
	Free Democratic Party (FDP)	1,087,918	2.8	-4.4	0	±0	2,706,942	6.9	-3.7	34	-19	35	-19	6.7
	The Greens	1,609,855	4.1	+3.1	0	±0	2,167,431	5.6	+4.1	27	+27	28	+28	5.4
	National Democratic Party (NPD)	57,112	0.1	+0.1	0	±0	91,095	0.2	±0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	German Communist Party (DKP)	96,143	0.2	-0.1	0	±0	64,986	0.2	±0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	European Workers' Party (EAP)	7,491	0.0	±0	0	±0	14,966	0.0	±0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Ecological Democratic Party (ÖDP)	3,341	0.0	+0.0	0	±0	11,028	0.0	+0.0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Christian Bavarian People's Party (CBV)	2,068	0.0	+0.0	0	±0	10,994	0.0	±0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Communist Party of Germany (KPD)	–	–	–	–	–	3,431	0.0	+0.0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Independent Social Democrats (USD)	450	0.0	+0.0	0	±0	3,333	0.0	+0.0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	League of West German Communists (BWK)	686	0.0	+0.0	0	±0	2,129	0.0	+0.0	0	±0	0	±0	0
	Electoral groups and independents	31,996	0.1	+0.1	0	±0	–	–	–	–	–	0	±0	0
Totals		38,845,353	100	±0.0	248	±0	38,940,687	100	±0.0	250	+1	520	+1	±0

^† — includes the non-voting delegates for West Berlin (11 CDU, 9 SPD, 1 FDP, 1 AL).

^‡ — known as Alternative Liste für Demokratie und Umweltschutz (AL) in West Berlin.

Seat results -- SPD in red, Greens in green, FDP in yellow, CDU/CSU in black

Post-election

The coalition between the CDU/CSU and the FDP returned to government, with Helmut Kohl as Chancellor. This was the first election in which the Greens secured representation in the Bundestag, and the first which saw a fourth (fifth) party in the parliament since 1960.

Sources

• The Federal Returning Officer
• Psephos