1998 German Federal Election

27 September 1998 · The Berlin Republic · 669 seats, 335 for a majority

A federal election was held in Germany on 27 September 1998 to elect the members of the 14th Bundestag. The Social Democratic Party (SPD) emerged as the largest faction in parliament for the first time since 1972, with its leader Gerhard Schröder becoming chancellor.

Chancellor before

Helmut Kohl

CDU

Chancellor after

Gerhard Schröder

SPD

Largest force

SPD

298 of 669 seats

Turnout

82.2%

The result

Sort by

SPD

Gerhard Schröder · 40.9% of votes · +46 seats

298

seats

CDU/CSU

Helmut Kohl · 35.1% of votes · -49 seats

245

seats

Greens

Joschka Fischer · 6.7% of votes · -2 seats

seats

FDP

Wolfgang Gerhardt · 6.2% of votes · -4 seats

seats

PDS

Lothar Bisky · 5.1% of votes · +6 seats

seats


SPD	Gerhard Schröder	298	+46	20.181.269	40.9%	+4.5
CDU/CSU	Helmut Kohl	245	-49	17.329.388	35.1%	-6.3
Greens	Joschka Fischer	47	-2	3.301.624	6.7%	-0.6
FDP	Wolfgang Gerhardt	43	-4	3.080.955	6.2%	-0.7
PDS	Lothar Bisky	36	+6	2.515.454	5.1%	+0.7