2004 Brandenburg state election

Template:Short description Template:Infobox election The 2004 Brandenburg state election was held on 19 September 2004 to elect the members of the 4th Landtag of Brandenburg. The incumbent government of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and Christian Democratic Union (CDU) led by Minister-President Matthias Platzeck was returned with a significantly reduced majority. The Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) moved into second place, although polls prior to the election suggested it would become the largest party. The CDU fell to third place.

Background

The SPD had suffered losses in several state elections before Brandenburg. This was thought to be a consequence of the Agenda 2010 policy, a series of economic liberal economic reforms adopted by the federal SPD government led by Chancellor Gerhard Schröder. Many voters in eastern Germany turned to the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS), while many in the west later turned to Labour and Social Justice, an SPD splinter party. In state elections, the SPD's growing unpopularity had chiefly benefited the CDU.

In Brandenburg, both Minister-President Matthias Platzeck (SPD) and his partner Jörg Schönbohm (CDU) supported Schröder's reforms. Both PDS and the German People's Union (DVU), which had entered the Landtag in 1999, campaigned in opposition.

Parties

The table below lists parties represented in the 3rd Landtag of Brandenburg.

Name			Ideology	Leader(s)	1999 result
					Votes (%)	Seats
bgcolor=Template:Party color |	SPD	Social Democratic Party of Germany Template:Small	Social democracy	Matthias Platzeck	39.3%	Template:Composition bar
bgcolor=Template:Party color |	CDU	Christian Democratic Union of Germany Template:Small	Christian democracy	Jörg Schönbohm	26.5%	Template:Composition bar
bgcolor=Template:Party color |	PDS	Party of Democratic Socialism Template:Small	Democratic socialism	Dagmar Enkelmann	23.3%	Template:Composition bar
bgcolor=Template:Party color |	DVU	German People's Union Template:Small	German nationalism		5.3%	Template:Composition bar

Opinion polling

Polling firm	Fieldwork date	Sample size	SPD	CDU	PDS	DVU	Grüne	FDP	Others	Lead
			style="background:Template:Party color;"|	style="background:Template:Party color;"|	style="background:Template:Party color;"|	style="background:Template:Party color;"|	style="background:Template:Party color;"|	style="background:Template:Party color;"|
2004 state election	19 Sep 2004	–	Template:Party shading/SPD| 31.9	19.4	28.0	6.1	3.6	3.3	7.7	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 3.9
Forschungsgruppe Wahlen	6–9 Sep 2004	1,034	Template:Party shading/SPD| 29	23	27	6	6	5	4	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 2
Infratest dimap	6–8 Sep 2004	1,000	27	24	Template:Party shading/Linke| 31	5	5	4	4	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 4
Forsa	30 Aug–4 Sep 2004	1,003	28	23	Template:Party shading/Linke| 35	4	4	2	4	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 7
Emnid	30 Aug–1 Sep 2004	751	29	25	Template:Party shading/Linke| 31	3	5	4	3	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 2
Infratest	August 2004	1,000	28	22	Template:Party shading/Linke| 34	3.5	5.5	4	3	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 6
Forsa	16–20 Aug 2004	1,009	27	22	Template:Party shading/Linke| 36	4	4	3	4	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 9
Infratest dimap	5–9 Aug 2004	1,001	28	26	Template:Party shading/Linke| 29	4	5	4	4	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 1
Forsa	29 Jul–5 Aug 2004	1,001	Template:Party shading/SPD| 33	27	30	–	3	3	5	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 3
Usuma	June 2004	1,007	31	Template:Party shading/CDU| 36	22	–	5	4	2	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 5
Forsa	May 2004	1,000	Template:Party shading/SPD| 33	30	22	–	6	3	6	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 3
Infratest dimap	15–19 Mar 2004	1,001	30	Template:Party shading/CDU| 34	20	–	5	5	6	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 4
Infratest dimap	15–20 Oct 2003	1,000	Template:Party shading/SPD| 34	32	19	–	4	6	5	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 2
Infratest dimap	9–15 Jun 2003	1,000	Template:Party shading/SPD| 34	Template:Party shading/CDU| 34	17	–	6	5	4	Tie
Infratest dimap	6–9 Mar 2003	1,000	Template:Party shading/SPD| 36	35	17	–	4	5	3	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 1
dimap	15 Dec 2002	?	34	Template:Party shading/CDU| 36	20	–	4	2	4	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 2
Infratest dimap	28 Aug–1 Sep 2002	1,000	Template:Party shading/SPD| 46	23	20	–	6	3	2	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 23
Infratest dimap	24–25 Jun 2002	1,000	Template:Party shading/SPD| 40	29	21	–	2	6	2	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 11
Infratest dimap	24–28 Apr 2002	1,000	Template:Party shading/SPD| 35	30	24	–	2	5	4	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 5
Forsa	March 2002	1,014	Template:Party shading/SPD| 37	28	24	–	3	3	5	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 9
Infratest dimap	9–14 Oct 2001	1,000	Template:Party shading/SPD| 44	26	21	–	2	3	4	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 18
Infratest dimap	April 2001	?	Template:Party shading/SPD| 45	25	21	–	2	3	4	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 20
Infratest dimap	28 Aug–2 Sep 2000	1,000	Template:Party shading/SPD| 44	25	21	–	3	3	4	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 19
Infratest dimap	25–29 Apr 2000	1,000	Template:Party shading/SPD| 42	26	23	3	3	1	2	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 16
1999 state election	5 Sep 1999	–	Template:Party shading/SPD| 39.3	26.5	23.3	5.3	1.9	1.9	1.7	style="background:Template:Party color;color:#FFFFFF;"| 12.7

Sources

• The Federal Returning Officer