with the revaluation Schiller had proposed, raising the value of the mark by 9.3% in late October. Disappointed Kiesinger bitterly complained about the faithless liberals. Though he had again achieved the plurality of votes for the CDU, he had to lead his party into opposition. He was succeeded as chairman by Rainer Barzel in 1971. However the Cabinet Brandt I could only rely on an absolute majority (Kanzlermehrheit) of twelve votes in the Bundestag. Several party switches in protest against Brandt's Ostpolitik of FDP and SPD members resulted in the snap election of 1972. Notes References Federal elections in Germany 1969 elections in Germany 1969 in West Germany September 1969 events in Europe Kurt Georg Kiesinger