2017 Saarland state election

2017 Saarland state election

← 2012 26 March 2017 2022 →
All 51 seats in the Landtag of Saarland 26 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	533,783 (69.7%) 8.1%
First party Second party   Leader Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer Anke Rehlinger Party CDU SPD Leader since 28 May 2011[1] 18 June 2016 Last election 19 seats, 35.2% 17 seats, 30.6% Seats won 24 17 Seat change 5 0 Popular vote 217,263 158,057 Percentage 40.7% 29.6% Swing 5.5% 1.0%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Oskar Lafontaine Rudolf Müller Party Left AfD Leader since 9 August 2008 16 September 2016 Last election 9 seats, 16.1% Did not exist Seats won 7 3 Seat change 2 3 Popular vote 68,566 32,971 Percentage 12.8% 6.2% Swing 3.3% New party
Government before election Second Kramp-Karrenbauer cabinet CDU–SPD Government after election Third Kramp-Karrenbauer cabinet CDU–SPD

The 2017 Saarland state election was held on 26 March 2017 to elect the members of the Landtag of Saarland.^[2][3] The incumbent grand coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD) led by Minister-President Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer was returned with an increased majority.^[4][5]

Even though the Saarland is the second smallest state by population and does not represent Germany as a whole demographically, the election proved to be of pivotal importance to the following state elections and in particular the federal election later that year. Then-SPD leader Martin Schulz led the party to new heights in early 2017 and polls showed the SPD capturing the Minister-President's office in this first election of the year, but the upset CDU victory marked the beginning of a decline in the polls both nationally and in other state elections. This decline culminated in heavy losses for the SPD in Schleswig-Holstein, in North Rhine-Westphalia and, ultimately, in the 2017 German federal election.