maintained relations with right-wing organizations. For them the enemy was on the left. An important change in the organization was the creation of the Protection Police (Schutzpolizei) as an instrument to protect the constitution and the Republic. Justice In the judiciary, reforms remained limited even longer than they did in the police force. Many judges continued to support the monarchy. In political trials, left-wing defendants were regularly judged more harshly than those on the right. One reason in particular for the hesitant intervention of democrats and centrists was respect for the independence of the judiciary. The autonomy of judges had been explicitly enshrined in the constitution. It made a fundamental republicanization of the judiciary impossible. Moreover, the Minister of Justice Hugo am Zehnhoff, who held the office from 1919 to 1927, had no real interest in judicial reform. The authorities did, however, pay attention to the attitude towards democracy among new appointees. But the Free State did not survive long enough for it to have a noticeable effect. One estimate in 1932 suggested that only about 5% of judges were republican-minded. Weimar Republic (1921–1933) Grand coalition (1921–1925) Formation After the adoption of the constitution, elections for the first regular state Parliament were set for 20 February 1921. The MSPD emerged as the strongest political force with 114 seats, followed by the Centre with 81. Even though the German Democratic Party (DDP) lost seats to the German People's Party (DVP), the Weimar coalition (SPD, DDP, and Centre) with a combined 224 of 428 seats still had a majority, albeit a small one, unlike in the 1920 Reichstag election, following which a minority government of the Centre, DDP and DVP was built. Forming a new government in Prussia did not prove to be easy. While the DDP and the Centre wanted to bring the DVP into the coalition, the MSPD rejected the proposal because of the DVP's closeness to heavy industry and its unclear attitude towards the Republic. As a result, Otto Braun did not run as a candidate for Minister President. Instead, Adam Stegerwald of the Centre Party was elected with the votes of the previous coalition and the DVP, but his attempt to form a solid grand coalition failed. The MSPD then terminated its support, and Stegerwald resigned. In a second election on 21 April, Stegerwald was re-elected with the votes of the bourgeois parties including the DNVP. He formed