Editing Brandenburg (section)

==Politics ==
{{See also||List of rulers of Brandenburg}}
Politically, Brandenburg is a stronghold of the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democratic Party]], which won the largest share of the vote and seats in every state election. All three [[List of Minister-Presidents of Brandenburg|Minister-Presidents of Brandenburg]] have come from the Social Democratic Party (unlike any other state except [[Bremen (state)|Bremen]]) and they even won an absolute majority of seats and every single-member constituency in the [[1994 Brandenburg state election|1994 state election]].

On a federal level, the Social Democratic Party has also been the strongest party in most [[Elections in Germany#German elections since 1949|federal elections]], their strongholds being the [[Prignitz – Ostprignitz-Ruppin – Havelland I|northwestern part of the state]] and [[Potsdam – Potsdam-Mittelmark II – Teltow-Fläming II|Potsdam and its surrounding areas]]. However, the [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|Christian Democratic Union]] won the most votes in [[1990 German federal election|1990]], their [[2013 German federal election|2013 landslide]] and in [[2017 German federal election|2017]]. In [[2009 German federal election|2009]], [[The Left (Germany)|The Left]] won the most votes in a year where, like in 2017, the Social Democratic collapsed. Prominent politicians from Brandenburg include Social Democrats [[Frank-Walter Steinmeier]], who served in the [[Bundestag]] for Brandenburg before being elected [[President of Germany]], and [[Chancellor of Germany]] [[Olaf Scholz]], who sits in the Bundestag for [[Potsdam – Potsdam-Mittelmark II – Teltow-Fläming II|Potsdam]].

Like in all other [[New states of Germany]], the leftist party of [[The Left (Germany)|The Left]] and, more recently, the far-right [[Alternative for Germany]] are especially strong in Brandenburg.

Brandenburg has 4 out of 69 votes in the [[German Bundesrat|Bundesrat]] and, as of 2021, 25 seats out of 736 in the [[Bundestag]].

===Subdivisions===

Brandenburg is divided into 14 rural districts (''Landkreise'') and four urban districts (''kreisfreie Städte''), shown with their population in 2011:<ref>{{Cite web|title=Amt für Statistik Berlin Brandenburg – Statistiken|url=https://www.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de/Statistiken/inhalt-statistiken.asp|access-date=24 April 2015|website=www.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de|language=de|archive-date=8 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210308125331/https://www.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de/Statistiken/inhalt-statistiken.asp}}</ref>

[[File:Brandenburg, administrative divisions - de - colored.svg|thumb|400px|Administrative divisions of Brandenburg]]
{| class="sortable wikitable"
!District
!Population
|-
|[[File:DEU Landkreis Barnim COA.svg|20px]] [[Barnim]]
|align="right"|176,953
|-
|[[File:Wappen Landkreis Dahme-Spreewald.svg|20px]] [[Dahme-Spreewald]]
|align="right"|161,556
|-
|[[File:Wappen des Landkreises Elbe-Elster.svg|20px]] [[Elbe-Elster]]
|align="right"|110,291
|-
|[[File:DEU Havelland COA.svg|20px]] [[Havelland (district)|Havelland]]
|align="right"|155,226
|-
|[[File:DEU Maerkisch-Oderland COA.svg|20px]] [[Märkisch-Oderland]]
|align="right"|189,673
|-
|[[File:DEU_Oberhavel_COA.svg|20px]] [[Oberhavel]]
|align="right"|203,508
|-
|[[File:Wappen des Landkreises Oberspreewald-Lausitz.svg|20px]] [[Oberspreewald-Lausitz]]
|align="right"|120,023
|-
|[[File:Wappen Landkreis Oder-Spree.svg|20px]] [[Oder-Spree]]
|align="right"|182,798
|-
|[[File:Wappen des Landkreises Ostprignitz-Ruppin.svg|20px]] [[Ostprignitz-Ruppin]]
|align="right"|102,108
|-
|[[File:Wappen Landkreis Potsdam-Mittelmark.png|20px]] [[Potsdam-Mittelmark]]
|align="right"|205,678
|-
|[[File:Wappen des Landkreises Prignitz.svg|20px]] [[Prignitz]]
|align="right"|80,872
|-
|[[File:DEU Landkreis Spree-Neisse COA.svg|20px]] [[Spree-Neiße]]
|align="right"|124,662
|-
|[[File:Wappen des Landkreises Teltow-Fläming.svg|20px]] [[Teltow-Fläming]]
|align="right"|161,546
|-
|[[File:DEU Landkreis Uckermark COA.svg|20px]] [[Uckermark (district)|Uckermark]]
|align="right"|128,174
|-
|[[File:DEU Brandenburg an der Havel COA.svg|20px]] Stadt [[Brandenburg an der Havel]]
|align="right"|71,534
|-
|[[File:DEU Cottbus COA.svg|20px]] Stadt [[Cottbus]]
|align="right"|102,129
|-
|[[File:DEU Frankfurt (Oder) COA.svg|20px]] Stadt [[Frankfurt (Oder)]]
|align="right"|60,002
|-
|[[File:Coat of arms of Potsdam.svg|20px]] Stadt [[Potsdam]]
|align="right"|158,902
|}

=== Government===
{{Main|List of minister-presidents of Brandenburg|Landtag of Brandenburg}}
{{Further|Land Brandenburg Commissioner for the Study of the Repercussions of the Communist Dictatorship}}

====Election of 2024====
{| class="wikitable floatright"
|+ Election 2024<ref name="w562">{{cite web | last=Brandenburg | first=Redaktion des Landtages | title=Plenarsitzordnung | website=Landtag Brandenburg | date=2024-10-14 | url=https://www.landtag.brandenburg.de/de/abgeordnete_-_fraktionen/abgeordnete/plenarsitzordnung/25228 | language=de | access-date=2024-12-13}}</ref>
|-
! Party !! Seats !! +/- !! In Majority?
|-
| {{Color box|{{party color|Social Democratic Party of Germany}}|border=silver}} [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|SPD]] || 32 || +7 {{increase}} || government
|-
| {{Color box|{{party color|Alternative for Germany}}|border=silver}} [[Alternative for Germany|AfD]] || 30 || +7{{increase}} || opposition
|-
| {{Color box|{{party color|Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht}}|border=silver}} [[Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht|BSW]] || 14 || New || government
|-
| {{Color box|{{party color|Christian Democratic Union of Germany}}|border=silver}} [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|CDU]] || 12 || -3 {{decrease}} || opposition
|-
| Total ||88
|}
The [[2024 Brandenburg state election]] took place on 22 September. One important outcome of the election was that the number of parties with representation in the [[Landtag of Brandenburg|state parliament]] went from six to four. The Greens, the Left, and the Brandenburg United Civic Movements/Free Voters all lost their representation while a new party, the [[Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance]] (BSW), gained 14 votes. The BSW was formed on 8 January 2024, mostly by members who had broken away from the Left. While it shares the Left's economic outlook, it is more closely aligned with stances traditionally held by the right on certain issues. For example, the BSW is broadly anti-immigration and anti-Nato, and has been accused of having [[Russophile]] tendencies, partially based on their desire for the war in [[Ukraine]] to be ended by diplomacy.<ref name="h006">{{cite web | last=Adler | first=Nils | title=Not just AfD: What’s the BSW, Germany’s rising populist left party? | website=Al Jazeera | date=2024-09-25 | url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/25/not-just-afd-whats-the-bsw-germanys-rising-new-populist-left-party | access-date=2024-12-13}}</ref>

Other German parties have generally been unwilling to work with the AfD and that trend continued with the formation of the new government based on this election. Assuming that the AfD would be in the opposition, the only two options that the SPD, with the plurality of seats, had to obtain a majority were to work with the BSW as well as the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) or to just work with the BSW. Ultimately, the latter option was chosen and a majority of 46 out of 88 seats was obtained.<ref name="w562"/>

While this should have been enough votes to reelect Woidke as the Minister-President, he lost the first vote, having only 43 supporters in the secret ballot. While there were only 40 votes against him (there were two abstentions and two votes that were invalid), an absolute majority, 45 votes, was required to win the first round. On 11 December, in the second round of voting, all that was needed was for Woidke to receive more votes in his favor than there were in opposition, and he won in this round with 50 votes.<ref name="s277">{{cite web | title=Woidke als Ministerpräsident in Brandenburg wiedergewählt | website=tagesschau.de | date=2024-12-11 | url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/brandenburg-woidke-106.html | language=de | access-date=2024-12-13}}</ref> This meant that at least 4 members of the opposition, whether from the AfD, the CDU, or a combination of the two, had voted with the coalition government to reelect Woidke. The CDU accused the SPD of receiving help from the AfD, but it is impossible to know because the ballot was secret. The government in Brandenburg has been led by the SPD since 1990.<ref name="e857">{{cite web | title=Brandenburg: Dietmar Woidke im zweiten Wahlgang zum Brandenburger Ministerpräsidenten gewählt | website=tagesschau.de | date=2024-12-11 | url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/regional/brandenburg/rbb-woidke-stellt-sich-im-landtag-erneut-als-ministerpraesident-zur-wahl-100.html | language=de | access-date=2024-12-13}}</ref>

====Election of 2019====
[[File:Potsdam Stadtschloss 07-2017.jpg|thumb|The [[Landtag of Brandenburg|Brandenburg parliament]] building (Landtag) in Potsdam, the seat of the parliament is the reconstructed [[City Palace, Potsdam|Potsdam City Palace]]]]
[[File:Dietmar Woidke M-0212 36139 Ausschnitt Color Hoffotografen.jpg|thumb|Dietmar Woidke, current Minister-President of Brandenburg]]
{{Main|2019 Brandenburg state election}}
The 2019 elections took place on 1 September. A coalition government was formed by the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany|Social Democrats]], [[Alliance 90/The Greens|The Greens]], and the [[Christian Democratic Union of Germany|Christian Democratic Union]] led by incumbent Minister-President [[Dietmar Woidke]] (SPD), replacing the previous coalition between the Social Democrats and [[The Left (Germany)|The Left]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=SPIEGEL|first=DER|title=Dietmar Woidke in Brandenburg als Ministerpräsident wiedergewählt – DER SPIEGEL – Politik|url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/brandenburg-dietmar-woidke-von-kenia-koalition-zum-ministerpraesidenten-gewaehlt-a-1297353.html|access-date=11 January 2021|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=20 November 2019|language=de}}</ref> 
{{#section-h:2019 Brandenburg state election|Results}}