2010 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

2010 North Rhine-Westphalia state election

← 2005 9 May 2010 2012 →
All 181 seats in the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia 91 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	7,870,412 (59.3% 3.7pp)
First party Second party Third party   Candidate Jürgen Rüttgers Hannelore Kraft Sylvia Löhrmann Party CDU SPD Greens Last election 89 seats, 44.8% 74 seats, 37.1% 12 seats, 6.2% Seats won 67 67 23 Seat change 22 7 11 Popular vote 2,681,700 2,675,818 941,162 Percentage 34.6% 34.5% 12.1% Swing 10.3pp 2.6pp 5.9pp   Fourth party Fifth party   Candidate Andreas Pinkwart Bärbel Beuermann Party FDP Left Last election 12 seats, 6.2% 0 seats, 3.1%[a] Seats won 13 11 Seat change 1 11 Popular vote 522,229 435,627 Percentage 6.7% 5.6% Swing 0.5pp 2.5pp
Results for the single-member constituencies.
Government before election Rüttgers cabinet CDU–FDP Government after election First Kraft cabinet SPD–Green

The 2010 North Rhine-Westphalia state election was held on 9 May 2010 to elect the 15th Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Free Democratic Party (FDP) led by Minister-President Jürgen Rüttgers.

The election was a defeat for the incumbent government, but failed to produce a clear outcome. The CDU suffered its worst-ever result, falling over ten percentage points to just 34.6%. The opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Hannelore Kraft also recorded a decline and finished just 0.1% behind the CDU; both parties tied on 67 seats. The Greens recorded their best result to date with 12%, while the FDP achieved a small swing to 6.7%. The newly-formed Left party won 5.6% and 11 seats. Neither the incumbent CDU–FDP government (80 seats) or prospective SDP–Green coalition (90 seats) achieved a majority in the Landtag, with The Left narrowly holding balance of power.

Complex talks took place between all five parties, with the CDU and SPD each aiming for a coalition with the Greens and FDP, or a grand coalition between the two of them. The SPD and Greens also held talks with The Left. All discussions ended without success by mid-June. On the 17th, the SPD and Greens announced they would attempt to form a minority government led by Hannelore Kraft. They ruled out a confidence arrangement with The Left, but nonetheless relied on the party's abstention for the government's investiture to succeed. Kraft was elected Minister-President on 14 July on the second ballot, which required only a simple majority, with 90 votes in favour, 80 against, and eleven abstentions.
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