1965 West German federal election
Federal elections were held in West Germany on 19 September 1965 to elect the members of the 5th Bundestag. The CDU/CSU remained the largest faction, while the Social Democratic Party remained the largest single party in the Bundestag, winning 217 of the 518 seats (including 15 of the 22 non-voting delegates for West Berlin).
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All 496 seats in the Bundestag[lower-alpha 1] 249 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 38,510,395  2.9% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 33,416,207 (86.8%)  0.9pp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results by constituency for the first votes. Grey denotes seats won by the CDU/CSU; red denotes seats won by the SPD. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Campaign
Federal Chancellor Ludwig Erhard was initially popular as the acclaimed "father" of West Germany's economic miracle of the 1950s and early 1960s. West Germany's economy still seemed solid in 1965, and thus not enough West German voters wanted to change the party of Federal Chancellor. To ensure his victory in this Bundestag election, Erhard promised to cut income tax and to increase social program spending.[1][2]
Results
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| Party | Constituency | Party list | Total seatsa |
+/– | ||||||||||
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | |||||||||
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 12,998,474 | 40.1 | 94 | 12,813,186 | 39.3 | 108 | 202 | +12 | ||||||
| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 12,631,319 | 38.9 | 118 | 12,387,562 | 38.0 | 78 | 196 | +4 | ||||||
| Christian Social Union (CSU) | 3,204,648 | 9.9 | 36 | 3,136,506 | 9.6 | 13 | 49 | −1 | ||||||
| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 2,562,294 | 7.9 | 0 | 3,096,739 | 9.5 | 49 | 49 | −18 | ||||||
| National Democratic Party (NPD)b | 587,216 | 1.8 | 0 | 664,193 | 2.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| German Peace Union (DFU) | 386,900 | 1.2 | 0 | 434,182 | 1.3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Action Community of Independent Germans (AUD) | 46,146 | 0.1 | 0 | 52,637 | 0.2 | 0 | 0 | New | ||||||
| Christian People's Party (CVP) | 11,978 | 0.0 | 0 | 19,832 | 0.1 | 0 | 0 | New | ||||||
| Free Social Union (FSU) | 6,287 | 0.0 | 0 | 10,631 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||||||
| Independent Workers' Party (UAP) | 1,127 | 0.0 | 0 | 3,959 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||||||
| European Federalist Party (EFP) | – | – | – | 1,015 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | New | ||||||
| Independents and voter groups | 660 | 0.0 | 0 | – | – | – | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Valid votes | 32,437,049 | 97.1 | – | 32,620,442 | 97.6 | – | – | – | ||||||
| Invalid/blank votes | 979,158 | 2.9 | – | 795,765 | 2.4 | – | – | – | ||||||
| Total votes | 33,416,207 | 100.0 | 248 | 33,416,207 | 100.0 | 248 | 496 | −3 | ||||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 38,510,395 | 86.8 | – | 38,510,395 | 86.8 | – | – | – | ||||||
| Source: Bundeswahlleiter | ||||||||||||||
- ^a – excludes the non-voting delegates for West Berlin (15 SPD, 6 CDU, 1 FDP).
- ^b – previously the Deutsche Reichspartei (German Reich Party).
| 245 | 49 | 202 |
| CDU/CSU | FDP | SPD |
Constituency seats
| State | Total seats |
Seats won | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CDU | SPD | CSU | ||
| Baden-Württemberg | 36 | 30 | 6 | |
| Bavaria | 44 | 8 | 36 | |
| Bremen | 3 | 3 | ||
| Hamburg | 8 | 8 | ||
| Hesse | 22 | 5 | 17 | |
| Lower Saxony | 30 | 20 | 10 | |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 73 | 38 | 35 | |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 16 | 11 | 5 | |
| Saarland | 5 | 4 | 1 | |
| Schleswig-Holstein | 11 | 10 | 1 | |
| Total | 248 | 118 | 94 | 36 |
List seats
| State | Total seats |
Seats won | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPD | CDU | FDP | CSU | ||
| Baden-Württemberg | 32 | 17 | 5 | 10 | |
| Bavaria | 42 | 22 | 7 | 13 | |
| Bremen | 2 | 2 | |||
| Hamburg | 9 | 1 | 7 | 1 | |
| Hesse | 23 | 4 | 13 | 6 | |
| Lower Saxony | 32 | 16 | 9 | 7 | |
| North Rhine-Westphalia | 80 | 31 | 36 | 13 | |
| Rhineland-Palatinate | 15 | 7 | 5 | 3 | |
| Saarland | 3 | 3 | |||
| Schleswig-Holstein | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | |
| Total | 248 | 108 | 78 | 49 | 13 |
Aftermath
The coalition between the CDU/CSU and the FDP returned to government, with Ludwig Erhard as Chancellor. In 1966, the FDP left the coalition over budget issues, and Erhard resigned. Kurt Georg Kiesinger (also CDU) formed a new grand coalition between the CDU/CSU and the SPD which lasted until the next election.
Notes
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1965 Germany Bundestagswahl. |
- As well as the 22 non-voting delegates for West Berlin, elected by the West Berlin Legislature.
- As well as 6 non-voting delegates for West Berlin.
- As well as 15 non-voting delegates for West Berlin.
- As well as 1 non-voting delegate for West Berlin.
References
- Bjöl, Erling. "Erhard's Victory and Fall". Grimberg's History of the Nations, volume 23: The Rich West. p. 339.
- Bark, Dennis L.; Gress, David R. (1989). A History of West Germany, volume 2: Democracy and Its Discontents, 1963–1988. London, UK: Basil Blackwell.
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