2005 German federal election facts for kids

The election of the German Federal Diet (also known as the Bundestag) 2005 was a big event in Germany. It happened on 18 September 2005. This election decided who would be in charge of the German government for the next few years. People voted for their representatives in the Bundestag, which is like Germany's parliament.

What is the Bundestag?

The Bundestag is the main parliament of Germany. It is where laws are made and important decisions for the country are taken. Members of the Bundestag are elected by the people. They represent different parts of Germany and different political ideas.

How Elections Work in Germany

In Germany, people get two votes in a federal election.

• The first vote is for a direct candidate in their local area, called a constituency. The person who gets the most votes in that area wins a seat in the Bundestag.
• The second vote is for a political party. This vote is very important because it decides how many seats each party gets in total in the Bundestag. This makes sure that the number of seats a party has matches the percentage of votes they received.

Who Were the Main Parties?

Several political parties took part in the 2005 election. Here are some of the most important ones:

• The Social Democratic Party (SPD) was led by the Chancellor at the time, Gerhard Schröder. They are a center-left party.
• The Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), worked together. They are center-right parties. Their candidate for Chancellor was Angela Merkel.
• The Free Democratic Party (FDP) is a liberal party that believes in less government control.
• The Left (Die Linke) is a left-wing party.
• Alliance '90/The Greens (Bündnis '90/Die Grünen) is a party focused on environmental protection and social justice.

The Election Results

The election was very close. No single party won enough votes to form a government on its own.

• The SPD received about 34.2% of the party list votes, winning 222 seats.
• The CDU/CSU alliance received about 35.2% of the party list votes (CDU 27.8% and CSU 7.4%), winning 226 seats in total. This made them the largest group in the Bundestag.
• The FDP did well, getting 9.8% of the votes and 61 seats.
• The Left party significantly increased its votes to 8.7% and won 54 seats.
• The Greens received 8.1% of the votes and 51 seats.

In total, 614 members were elected to the Bundestag.

Forming a Government

Because no party won a clear majority, the parties had to talk to each other to form a coalition government. This means two or more parties agree to work together to lead the country.

After many discussions, the CDU/CSU and the SPD decided to form a "Grand Coalition." This was a big deal because these two parties are usually rivals. They agreed to share power and work together.

As a result of this election, Angela Merkel became the new Chancellor of Germany. She was the first woman to hold this important position.

Images for kids

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  Election placard of the Social Democratic Party

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  A bicycle-taxi (velotaxi) in front of the German Reichstag building in Berlin with the Greens livery

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  Left Party election placard

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  Ballot for electoral district 252, Würzburg. Constituency vote on left, party list vote on right.

See also

In Spanish: Elecciones federales de Alemania de 2005 para niños