The Reichstag Election December 1924

A few month of economic revival following the May 1924 election sent the minority coalition of the DVP (German People’s Party), Centre (Zentrum) Party and DDP (German Democratic Party) back to the polls on 7 December 1924 in the hope that they would gain a working majority. This resulted in slight gains for the coalition party, a more noticeable increase for the Social Democrats, who increased their vote by 5.5 per cent to 26 per cent, and a decrease in votes for the National Socialist (bloc and the Communists. However, support for the DNVP (German National People’s Party), the major conservative and nationalist party in Weimar Germany, rose to 20.5 per cent, which meant that they held the balance of power and their support was indispensable for any ruling coalition. The new Centre-Right government, composed of a coalition of the Centre Party, Bavarian People’s Party (BVP), DVP and DNVP, collapsed after just a year, to be replaced by a new minority government. The Weimar pattern of shifting and collapsing alliances, which ultimately led to 22 coalition governments from 1919–1932, was now well established.