The Landtag of Saxony, also referred to as the Parliament of Saxony or the Saxon Parliament, is the German state of Saxony's legislature. It is based on the Constitution of the Free State of Saxony, drafted in 1992.
Some form of a Landtag has existed in the state of Saxony or its predecessors since the 15th century, and a modern-style bicameral constitutionally-based legislature was introduced in 1831. In the wake of the tumultuous 1848 revolutions, Saxony's Landtag extended voting rights (though still maintaining property requirements) and abolished voting-taxes. As the years went on, Saxony was incorporated into the German Empire and more voting rights were gradually extended.
By the early 1900s, Saxony's local politics had settled into a niche in which Social-Democrats (predecessors to today's SPD), Conservatives (predecessors to today's CDU), and so-called National-Liberals (who have no ideological descendants today; perhaps a fusion of FDP free-marketism and the NPD's voelkisch ideals) were splitting the share of votes and Landtag seats three ways. (In 1909: Social-Democrats won 27% of seats, Conservatives won 31% of seats, "National-Liberals" won 31% of seats). Voter participation was high (82% in 1909).
The post-WWI era saw local politics in Saxony mirror the tumultuousness befalling all of European politics at the time. The Saxon Landtag election of 1930 saw the Social-Democrats winning 33% of seats, the National-Socialists 15%, the Communists 14%, a free-market-liberal party (Reichspartei des deutschen Mittelstandes) 10%, "National-liberals" (Deutschnationale Volkspartei) 8%, and a number of mostly local and right-wing populist parties winning the remaining 16%. Turnout was unenthusiastic, at 73%.
The Landtag elections of March 5, 1933 saw unprecedented turnout of 92%. The National-Socialists won 45%, the Social-Democrats 26%, the Communists 16%, National-liberals (Deutschnationale Volkspartei) 7%, and minor parties taking only 6% of seats. This was the final free election in Saxony until 1990.
See Saxony Landtag elections in the Weimar Republic.
Since 1990, the CDU has been in government in the Saxon Landtag and has usually won most of the votes. This changed in 2004.
The results of the most recent 2009 Landtag elections were as follows:
| Party | Ideology | Vote % (change) | Seats (change) | Seat % | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Democratic Union (CDU) | center-right | 40.2% | −0.9% | 58 | +3 | 43.9% | |
| Linke (formerly PDS) | far-left, socialism | 20.6% | −3.0% | 29 | −2 | 22% | |
| Social Democratic Party (SPD) | center-left, social democracy | 10.4% | +0.6% | 14 | +1 | 10.6% | |
| Free Democratic Party (FDP) | classical liberalism | 10.0% | +4.1% | 14 | +7 | 10.6% | |
| Alliance '90/The Greens (Die Grünen) | green politics, center-left | 6.4% | +1.3% | 9 | +3 | 6.8% | |
| National Democratic Party (NPD) | far-right, nationalist, | 5.6% | −3.6% | 8 | −4 | 6% | |
| Animal Protection Party (Die Tierschutzpartei) | environmental | 2.1% | +0.5% | ||||
| Pirate Party (PIRATEN) | freedom of information, intellectual property rights reform, transparency | 1.9% | +1.9% | ||||
| Free Saxons (Freie Sachsen) | independent | 1.4% | +1.4% | ||||
| Party of Bible-Loyal Christians (PBC) | religious, conservative | 0.4% | −0.3% | ||||
| All Others | 1.0% | ||||||
| Total | 100.0% | 132 | +8 | 100.0% | |||
Elections are conducted using a proportional representation system, with a minimum of 5% vote share to receive any seats.
The next scheduled Saxon Landtag election is in 2014.
|
||||||||