2022 Schleswig-Holstein state election

2022 Schleswig-Holstein state election

← 2017 8 May 2022 2027 →
All 69 seats in the Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein 35 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	1,396,747 (60.4% 3.8pp)
First party Second party Third party   Leader Daniel Günther Monika Heinold Thomas Losse-Müller Party CDU Greens SPD Last election 25 seats, 32.0% 10 seats, 12.9% 21 seats, 27.3% Seats won 34 14 12 Seat change 9 4 9 Popular vote 601,964 254,158 221,496 Percentage 43.4% 18.3% 16.0% Swing 11.4pp 5.4pp 11.3pp   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Bernd Buchholz Lars Harms Jörg Nobis Party FDP SSW AfD Last election 9 seats, 11.5% 3 seats, 3.3% 5 seats, 5.9% Seats won 5 4 0 Seat change 4 1 5 Popular vote 88,593 79,301 61,141 Percentage 6.4% 5.7% 4.4% Swing 5.1pp 2.4pp 1.5pp
Results for the single-member constituencies
Government before election First Günther cabinet CDU–Green–FDP Government after election Second Günther cabinet CDU–Green

The 2022 Schleswig-Holstein state election was held on 8 May 2022 to elect the 20th Landtag of Schleswig-Holstein. The outgoing government was a coalition of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), The Greens, and the Free Democratic Party (FDP), led by Minister-President Daniel Günther.

The CDU won in a landslide, claiming 43% of the vote with a swing of over eleven percentage points and falling one seat short of an absolute majority in the Landtag. It is their best result since Uwe Barschel's 49 % showing in the 1983 state election. The opposition Social Democratic Party (SPD) suffered major losses and fell to third place with 16% of votes, its worst ever result in the state, while the Greens became the second-largest party with 18%. The FDP also declined to 6% and the Alternative for Germany (AfD) fell below the 5% electoral threshold, losing representation in a state parliament for the first time. The South Schleswig Voters' Association (SSW), which represents the Danish and Frisian minorities in Schleswig-Holstein, won 6%, their best result since the first post-war state election in 1947.^[1]

The CDU's victory was attributed to the personal popularity of Minister-President Günther, as well as the federal government's response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, for which Chancellor Olaf Scholz has been criticised.^[1] In the lead-up to the election, Günther was the most popular Minister-President in Germany with an approval rating of 76%,^[2] and was preferred Minister-President even among opposition voters.^[3]

After the election, the CDU formed a coalition with the Greens. Daniel Günther was re-elected as Minister-President on 29 June.^[4]