OTL: 1921, 1924 & 1927 Hesse elections
So this is my first foray into the world of Weimar Republic elections - the map of the Hessian elections of 1921 and 1924. Simple enough electoral system - a single constituency with closed lists electing all 70 members through D'Hont and without thresholds.
The political system was dominated by the social-democratic SPD, which in both elections obtained over a third of the vote. In comparison to the SPD, the vote share of the Independent Social Democrats (in 1921 only) and the KPD combined never surpassed 6% of the vote.
The centre-to-right-wing vote was very divided owing to the social cleavages of the People's State. Zentrum, the Christian democratic party of Catholics was the second-largest party in the Landtag in both elections, although it only obtained 16-17% of the vote. The party's voters were concentrated on the provinces of Starkerburg (16.3%, 15.1%) and especially Rheinhessen (30.4%, 26.7%) in the southern section of the state while its vote share in the northern province of Oberhessen was much lower (5%, 5.2%).
Rural, Protestant Hessen, and especially Oberhessen voted "overwhelmingly" for the Hessian Farmers' Federation (Hessischer Bauernbund, HBB) which despite its name was not an agrarian party but a right-wing populist party that, like its Saxon equivalents, heavily used anti-Semitic rhetoric and was sociologically and ideologically close to the DNVP. The party's electoral stronghold was the northern province of Oberhessen were it obtained 32.8% and 30.2% of the vote in 1921 and 1924 respectively. Indeed, the DNVP's areas of core support were roughly the same as the HBB's.
By contrast, urban Protestant Hessen was the stronghold of the two liberal parties, the left-liberal German Democratic Party (DDP) and the right-liberal German People's Party (DVP). Of the two, the DVP was the strongest, and it was particularly strong in the more urban districts of Worms (33.1% and 26.1%) and Darmstadt (31.1% and 23%). But curiously, not Mainz. The party was strongest in the southern provinces of the People's State, and especially in Rhein-Hessen.
The DDP's strongest districts were not the same as the DVP's - although it was stronger in cities overall. Its best-performing districts were Alzey, Bigen and Oppenheim, districts with low population, which I guess would indicate more a rural character, so I don't know what could have caused that result.
In 1924, the then-banned Nazi party, which did not run in 1921, ran as a different entity, known as the National Socialist Freedom Movement (Nationalsozialistische Freiheitsbewegung, NSFB). It obtained 1.36% of the vote and one seat, that it would lose in 1927. It support was quite homogenous across all three provinces.
And 1924:
Following this election, Zentrum politician, Otto von Brentano di Tremezzo tried to form a 'bourgeois' government composed of Zentrum, DDP, DVP and HBB to replace the Weimar coalition government that had governed the state since 1919. In the investiture vote, von Brentano obtained 34 seats whereas the SPD candidate, the incumbent Carl Ulrich obtained 32 seats. As von Brentano failed to obtained the majority support of the Landtag, he could not form a government.
As a result, after two months of negotiations, Zentrum, DDP and SDP reached a new agreement and formed another Weimar coalition government, led by Ulrich.
The political system was dominated by the social-democratic SPD, which in both elections obtained over a third of the vote. In comparison to the SPD, the vote share of the Independent Social Democrats (in 1921 only) and the KPD combined never surpassed 6% of the vote.
The centre-to-right-wing vote was very divided owing to the social cleavages of the People's State. Zentrum, the Christian democratic party of Catholics was the second-largest party in the Landtag in both elections, although it only obtained 16-17% of the vote. The party's voters were concentrated on the provinces of Starkerburg (16.3%, 15.1%) and especially Rheinhessen (30.4%, 26.7%) in the southern section of the state while its vote share in the northern province of Oberhessen was much lower (5%, 5.2%).
Rural, Protestant Hessen, and especially Oberhessen voted "overwhelmingly" for the Hessian Farmers' Federation (Hessischer Bauernbund, HBB) which despite its name was not an agrarian party but a right-wing populist party that, like its Saxon equivalents, heavily used anti-Semitic rhetoric and was sociologically and ideologically close to the DNVP. The party's electoral stronghold was the northern province of Oberhessen were it obtained 32.8% and 30.2% of the vote in 1921 and 1924 respectively. Indeed, the DNVP's areas of core support were roughly the same as the HBB's.
By contrast, urban Protestant Hessen was the stronghold of the two liberal parties, the left-liberal German Democratic Party (DDP) and the right-liberal German People's Party (DVP). Of the two, the DVP was the strongest, and it was particularly strong in the more urban districts of Worms (33.1% and 26.1%) and Darmstadt (31.1% and 23%). But curiously, not Mainz. The party was strongest in the southern provinces of the People's State, and especially in Rhein-Hessen.
The DDP's strongest districts were not the same as the DVP's - although it was stronger in cities overall. Its best-performing districts were Alzey, Bigen and Oppenheim, districts with low population, which I guess would indicate more a rural character, so I don't know what could have caused that result.
In 1924, the then-banned Nazi party, which did not run in 1921, ran as a different entity, known as the National Socialist Freedom Movement (Nationalsozialistische Freiheitsbewegung, NSFB). It obtained 1.36% of the vote and one seat, that it would lose in 1927. It support was quite homogenous across all three provinces.
And 1924:
Following this election, Zentrum politician, Otto von Brentano di Tremezzo tried to form a 'bourgeois' government composed of Zentrum, DDP, DVP and HBB to replace the Weimar coalition government that had governed the state since 1919. In the investiture vote, von Brentano obtained 34 seats whereas the SPD candidate, the incumbent Carl Ulrich obtained 32 seats. As von Brentano failed to obtained the majority support of the Landtag, he could not form a government.
As a result, after two months of negotiations, Zentrum, DDP and SDP reached a new agreement and formed another Weimar coalition government, led by Ulrich.
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