1965 West German federal election

Federal elections were held in West Germany on 19 September 1965 to elect the members of the 5th Bundestag. The CDU/CSU remained the largest faction, while the Social Democratic Party remained the largest single party in the Bundestag, winning 217 of the 518 seats (including 15 of the 22 non-voting delegates for West Berlin).

1965 West German federal election
19 September 1965 (1965-09-19)
All 496 seats in the Bundestag[lower-alpha 1]
249 seats needed for a majority
Registered38,510,395 Increase 2.9%
Turnout33,416,207 (86.8%) Decrease 0.9pp
  First party Second party Third party
 
Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F019972-0018, Düsseldorf, CDU-Bundesparteitag, Erhard.jpg
Brandt at Pentagon 1965 (cropped).JPEG
Erich Mende (Kiel 36.036) (cropped).jpg
Candidate Ludwig Erhard Willy Brandt Erich Mende
Party CDU/CSU SPD FDP
Last election 45.3%, 242 seats 36.2%, 190 seats 12.8%, 67 seats
Seats won 245[lower-alpha 2] 202[lower-alpha 3] 49[lower-alpha 4]
Seat change Increase 3 Increase 12 Decrease 18
Popular vote 15,524,068 12,813,186 3,096,739
Percentage 47.6% 39.3% 9.5%
Swing Increase 2.3pp Increase 3.1pp Decrease 3.3pp
Results by constituency for the first votes. Grey denotes seats won by the CDU/CSU; red denotes seats won by the SPD.
Government before election

First Erhard cabinet
CDU/CSU–FDP

 Government after election

Second Erhard cabinet
CDU/CSU–FDP

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Campaign

Federal Chancellor Ludwig Erhard was initially popular as the acclaimed "father" of West Germany's economic miracle of the 1950s and early 1960s. West Germany's economy still seemed solid in 1965, and thus not enough West German voters wanted to change the party of Federal Chancellor. To ensure his victory in this Bundestag election, Erhard promised to cut income tax and to increase social program spending.[1][2]

Results
PartyParty-listConstituencySeats
Votes%SeatsVotes%SeatsElectedWest BerlinTotal+/–
Social Democratic Party12,813,18639.2810812,998,47440.079420215217+14
Christian Democratic Union12,387,56237.977812,631,31938.941181966202+1
Christian Social Union3,136,5069.62133,204,6489.883649049–1
Free Democratic Party3,096,7399.49492,562,2947.90049150–17
National Democratic Party664,1932.040587,2161.8100000
German Peace Union434,1821.330386,9001.1900000
Action Community of Independent Germans52,6370.16046,1460.140000New
Christian People's Party19,8320.06011,9780.040000New
Free Social Union10,6310.0306,2870.020000New
Independent Workers' Party3,9590.0101,1270.000000New
European Federalist Party1,0150.00000.00–000New
Independents and voter groups6600.0000000
Total32,620,442100.0024832,437,049100.0024849622518–3
Valid votes32,620,44297.6232,437,04997.07
Invalid/blank votes795,7652.38979,1582.93
Total votes33,416,207100.0033,416,207100.00
Registered voters/turnout38,510,39586.7738,510,39586.77
Source: Bundeswahlleiter

Constituency seats
State Total
seats		 Seats won
CDU SPD CSU
Baden-Württemberg 36 30 6
Bavaria 44 8 36
Bremen 3 3
Hamburg 8 8
Hesse 22 5 17
Lower Saxony 30 20 10
North Rhine-Westphalia 73 38 35
Rhineland-Palatinate 16 11 5
Saarland 5 4 1
Schleswig-Holstein 11 10 1
Total 248 118 94 36

List seats
State Total
seats		 Seats won
SPD CDU FDP CSU
Baden-Württemberg 32 17 5 10
Bavaria 42 22 7 13
Bremen 2 2
Hamburg 9 1 7 1
Hesse 23 4 13 6
Lower Saxony 32 16 9 7
North Rhine-Westphalia 80 31 36 13
Rhineland-Palatinate 15 7 5 3
Saarland 3 3
Schleswig-Holstein 10 7 1 2
Total 248 108 78 49 13

Aftermath

The coalition between the CDU/CSU and the FDP returned to government, with Ludwig Erhard as Chancellor. In 1966, the FDP left the coalition over budget issues, and Erhard resigned. Kurt Georg Kiesinger (also CDU) formed a new grand coalition between the CDU/CSU and the SPD which lasted until the next election.

Notes
Wikimedia Commons has media related to 1965 Germany Bundestagswahl.
  1. As well as the 22 non-voting delegates for West Berlin, elected by the West Berlin Legislature.
  2. As well as 6 non-voting delegates for West Berlin.
  3. As well as 15 non-voting delegates for West Berlin.
  4. As well as 1 non-voting delegate for West Berlin.

References
  1. Bjöl, Erling. "Erhard's Victory and Fall". Grimberg's History of the Nations, volume 23: The Rich West. p. 339.
  2. Bark, Dennis L.; Gress, David R. (1989). A History of West Germany, volume 2: Democracy and Its Discontents, 1963–1988. London, UK: Basil Blackwell.
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