 He backed Schönhuber in his subsequent power struggle with Franz Handlos and as such when Schönhuber became Chairman in 1985 he appointed Neubauer as secretary.He soon added the roles of regional chairman in Bavaria, federal vice-chairman and Member of the European Parliament to his accolades and was widely seen as the eventual successor to Schönhuber.The two became estranged however as Neubauer followed a more extremist path and for a while in 1990 he even forced the temporary resignation of his former mentor.