December 1924 German federal election

December 1924 German federal election
← May 1924 7 December 1924 (1924-12-07) 1928 →
All 493 seats in the Reichstag
247 seats needed for a majority
Registered38,987,324 (Increase 1.6%)
Turnout78.8% (Increase 1.4pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
SPD 1924 leadership.jpg
Kuno von Westarp.jpg
Reichskanzler Wilhelm Marx (cropped).jpg
Leader Hermann Müller
Otto Wels
Arthur Crispien 		Kuno von Westarp Wilhelm Marx
Party SPD DNVP Centre
Last election 20.5%, 100 seats 19.5%, 95 seats 13.4%, 65 seats
Seats won 131 103 69
Seat change Increase 31 Increase 8 Increase 4
Popular vote 7,881,041 6,205,802 4,118,849
Percentage 26.0% 20.5% 13.6%
Swing Increase 5.5pp Increase 1.0pp Increase 0.2pp
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1982-092-11, Gustav Stresemann.jpg
Fischer-Ruth-1924-Bain.jpg
Erich Koch-Weser circa 1920 (cropped).jpg
Leader Gustav Stresemann Ruth Fischer & Arkadi Maslow Erich Koch-Weser
Party DVP KPD DDP
Last election 9.2%, 45 seats 12.6%, 62 seats 5.7%, 28 seats
Seats won 51 45 32
Seat change Increase 6 Decrease 17 Increase 4
Popular vote 3,049,064 2,709,086 1,919,829
Percentage 10.1% 8.9% 6.3%
Swing Increase 0.9pp Decrease 3.7pp Increase 0.6pp
Government before election

Second Marx cabinet
Z–DVP–DDP

Government after election

First Luther cabinet
DVP–DNVP–Z–DDP–BVP

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The December 1924 German federal election was held on 7 December 1924 to elect the third Reichstag of the Weimar Republic.[1][2][3]

The election took place just six months after the previous election in May due to the political impasse following the passage of the Dawes Plan. The result was a decline in strength for the parties of the far right and far left, the Nazi Party and Communists, who lost 18 and 17 seats respectively. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) made the largest gains, rising to 26%, followed by the radical nationalist German National People's Party (DNVP). The Catholic Centre Party, conservative German People's Party (DVP), and German Democratic Party (DDP) also saw a small upswing.[3]

Following the election, the balance of power lay with the DVP, who announced they would only join a government of the bourgeois right. This time, negotiations with the DNVP were successful, and in January a new majority cabinet was formed under Hans Luther – an independent close to the DVP – as a coalition between the Centre Party, DNVP, DVP, and Bavarian People's Party.[3] For the following three years, until the collapse of the fourth Marx cabinet in February 1928, Germany was governed by cabinets of this conservative orientation.

  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p762 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. ^ Graper, Elmer D. (1925). "The Reichstag Elections". American Political Science Review. 19 (2): 362–370. doi:10.2307/2938928. ISSN 0003-0554. JSTOR 2938928. S2CID 147108053.
  3. ^ a b c Kolb, Eberhard (2004). The Weimar Republic. Translated by Falla, P. S.; Park, R. J. New York City: Routledge. p. 74. ISBN 0415344417.