The incumbent Christian Democratic Union (CDU) government led by Minister-President Peter Müller lost its majority.

The CDU subsequently formed a coalition with the Free Democratic Party (FDP) and The Greens, and Müller was re-elected as Minister-President.

Both the CDU and SPD suffered significant losses, losing almost 20% of vote share between them.

The Greens and Free Democratic Party (FDP) also benefited to a lesser degree.

As in a number of western states during the 2007–2009 period, the entry of The Left meant that neither the CDU–FDP nor SPD–Green coalitions won a majority.