1928 German federal election

Federal elections were held in Germany on 20 May 1928 to elect the fourth Reichstag of the Weimar Republic.[1][2][3]

1928 German federal election

← December 1924 20 May 1928 (1928-05-20) 1930 →

All 491 seats in the Reichstag
246 seats needed for a majority
Registered41,224,678 (Increase 5.7%)
Turnout75.6% (Decrease 3.2pp)
  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 26.0%, 131 seats 20.5%, 103 seats 13.6%, 69 seats
Seats won 153 73 61
Seat change Increase 22 Decrease 30 Decrease 8
Popular vote 9,152,979 4,381,563 3,712,152
Percentage 29.8% 14.3% 12.1%
Swing Increase 3.8 pp Decrease 6.2 pp Decrease 1.5 pp

  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Thälmann and Dengel.jpg
Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1989-040-27, Gustav Stresemann.jpg
Erich Koch-Weser circa 1920 (cropped).jpg
Leader Ernst Thälmann
& Philipp Dengel
Gustav Stresemann Erich Koch-Weser
Party KPD DVP DDP
Last election 8.9%, 45 seats 10.1%, 51 seats 6.3%, 32 seats
Seats won 54 45 25
Seat change Increase 9 Decrease 6 Decrease 7
Popular vote 3,264,793 2,679,703 1,479,374
Percentage 10.6% 8.7% 4.8%
Swing Increase 1.7 pp Decrease 1.4 pp Decrease 1.5 pp


Government before election

Fourth Marx cabinet
ZDNVPDVPBVP

Government after election

Second Müller cabinet
SPDDVPDDPZBVP

The previous three and a half years had seen Germany governed by a series of conservative cabinets, variably including the radical nationalist German National People's Party (DNVP). The fourth Marx cabinet collapsed in February 1928 due to a dispute over education policy, with new elections called for May. The results were a defeat for the parties of the centre-right cabinet: the DNVP particularly suffered, falling to 14%, as did the conservative German People's Party (DVP) and German Democratic Party (DDP). The Catholic Centre Party saw a substantial decline in its support for the first time since 1920. The winners of the election were the parties of the left: the Social Democratic Party, in opposition since 1923, won 30% of the vote. The Communist Party also improved to 10.6%. Much of the bourgeois and conservative electorate turned to small splinter parties representing special interests, including the Economic Party, Landvolk Party, and Revaluation Party.[3]

With a strong left-wing and the splintered right, there was little alternative to a government led by the SPD. Social Democrat Hermann Müller, who had previously served as Chancellor briefly in 1920, was charged with forming a new cabinet. The only viable majority was a Great Coalition stretching from the SPD to the DVP. Negotiations proved difficult: it took two weeks for the cabinet to be formed and sworn in, and only as a "cabinet of personalities" rather than a formal coalition, comprising ministers from the SPD, DVP, DDP, and Bavarian People's Party (BVP). The Centre sent only one minister, Theodor von Guérard, as a so-called "observer". It took until ten months later in April 1929 for a coalition agreement to be signed.[3]

This second Müller cabinet was to be the final democratic government of the Weimar Republic. Its fall in March 1930 and marked the end of the parliamentary system and the beginning of the presidential cabinets.[3]

Electoral system

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The Reichstag was elected via party list proportional representation. For this purpose, the country was divided into 35 multi-member electoral districts. A party was entitled to a seat for every 60,000 votes won. This was calculated via a three-step process on the constituency level, an intermediary level which combined multiple constituencies, and finally nationwide, where all parties' excess votes were combined. In the third nationwide step, parties could not be awarded more seats than they had already won on the two lower constituency levels. Due to the fixed number of votes per seat, the size of the Reichstag fluctuated between elections based on the number of voters and turnout. The voting age was 25 years.[4]

Results

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PartyVotes%+/–Seats+/–
Social Democratic Party9,152,97929.76+3.74153+22
German National People's Party4,381,56314.25−6.2473−30
Centre Party3,712,15212.07−1.5361−8
Communist Party of Germany3,264,79310.62+1.6854+9
German People's Party2,679,7038.71−1.3645−6
German Democratic Party1,479,3744.81−1.5325−7
Reich Party of the German Middle Class1,387,6024.51+2.2223+11
Bavarian People's Party945,6443.07−0.6717−2
Nazi Party810,1272.63−0.3712−2
Christian-National Peasants' and Farmers' Party571,8911.86New9New
Reich Party for Civil Rights and Deflation509,4711.66New2New
German Farmers' Party481,2541.56New8New
Völkisch-National Bloc266,3700.87New0New
Agricultural League199,5480.65−1.003−5
German-Hanoverian Party195,5550.64−0.2240
Saxon Peasants127,7000.42New2New
Christian Social Reich Party110,7040.36New0New
Left Communists80,4050.26New0New
Old Social Democratic Party of Germany65,7750.21New0New
Polish People's Party64,7530.21−0.0600
Evangelical Party of Germany52,4880.17New0New
German Social Party46,0470.15−0.3800
General People's Party37,3730.12New0New
German House and Property Owners' Party35,8460.12New0New
Independent Social Democratic Party20,8150.07−0.2600
Evangelical Community Spirit10,7090.03New0New
Christian National Middle Class Party9,9570.03New0New
Pastor Greber Party9,5270.03New0New
Revaluation and Construction Party8,5620.03New0New
German Reich Bloc of the Injured7,4370.02New0New
Reich Party for Crafts, Trade and Business6,6140.02New0New
People's Welfare Party6,0710.02New0New
Franconian Peasants3,4170.01New0New
Wendish People's Party3,1110.01−0.0100
Party for Justice and Tenant Protection2,8310.01New0New
Schleswig Club2,4350.01−0.0100
German Christian Folk Party9010.00New0New
Vital Interests of the Unmarried8730.00New0New
Masurian People's Party2950.00New0New
Lithuanian People's Party2890.00New0New
Friesland2860.00New0New
Total30,753,247100.00491–2
Valid votes30,753,24798.68
Invalid/blank votes412,5421.32
Total votes31,165,789100.00
Registered voters/turnout41,224,67875.60
Source: Gonschior.de

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) Elections in Europe: A data handbook, p762 ISBN 978-3-8329-5609-7
  2. ^ Pollock 1928.
  3. ^ a b c d Kolb, Eberhard (2004). The Weimar Republic. Translated by Falla, P. S.; Park, R. J. New York City: Routledge. p. 79-80. ISBN 0415344417.
  4. ^ Aleskerov, F.; Holler, M.J.; Kamalova, R. (21 February 2013). "Power distribution in the Weimar Reichstag in 1919–1933". Annals of Operations Research. 215 (April 2014): 25–37. doi:10.1007/s10479-013-1325-4.

Works cited

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