Politics of Rhineland-Palatinate
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The Politics of Rhineland-Palatinate takes place within a framework of a federal parliamentary representative democratic republic, where the Federal Government of Germany exercises sovereign rights with certain powers reserved to the states of Germany including Rhineland-Palatinate. The state has a multi-party system where the two main parties are the rightist Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the leftist Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD).
Every five years, all Germans residing in the State over the age of 18 elect the members of the Rhineland-Palatinate Landtag. This regional parliament or legislature then elects the Minister-President and confirms the cabinet members. Rhineland-Palatinate is the only German Bundesland to have a cabinet minister for winegrowing (ministry of economy, traffic, agriculture and winegrowing)
[edit] List of Minister-presidents of Rhineland-Palatinate
- June 13, 1947 - July 9, 1947: Wilhelm Boden, CDU
- 1947 - 1969: Peter Altmeier, CDU
- 1969 - 1976: Helmut Kohl, CDU
- 1976 - 1988: Bernhard Vogel, CDU
- 1988 - 1991: Carl-Ludwig Wagner, CDU
- 1991 - 1994: Rudolf Scharping, SPD
- since 1994: Kurt Beck, SPD
See also: List of Rhineland-Palatinate Cabinet Members.
[edit] Latest election
Kurt Beck (SPD) remained Minister-President, winning an outright majority. Beck offered the FDP to continue the coalition ("red-yellow"). The FDP, however, declined and will be an opposition party. The Alliance '90/The Greens lost their representation in the State Parliament.
| Party | Party List votes | Vote percentage | Total Seats | Seat percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | 750,390 | 45.2% | 53 | 52.5% |
| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | 668,610 | 32.8% | 38 | 37.6% |
| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | 134,709 | 8.0% | 10 | 9.9% |
| Alliance '90/The Greens | 86,255 | 4.98% | 0 | 0.0% |
| Electoral Alternative for Labor and Social Justice (WASG) | 47,352 | 2.7% | 0 | 0.0% |
| All Others | 45,010 | 2.6% | 0 | 0.0% |
| Totals | 1,732,326 | 100.0% | 101 | 100.0% |
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