After the rejection in the referendum on the Maulkuerfgesetz, Joseph Bech presented his resignation to Grand Duchess Charlotte. However, she initially refused to accept it. In the face of an international situation that was growing more and more menacing, the idea gained ground that a coalition of the three main parties should be formed. But the socialists refused to join a government of which Bech would be a member. The Catholics responded with a similar condition with regards to René Blum, a figure in the Workers' Party. Five months of long negotiations were necessary before Pierre Dupong succeeded in forming a new government coalition, which was almost a national union government. Bech remained in the government, holding on to the Foreign Affairs portfolio. Dupong became head of government. Two socialists joined the government: Pierre Krier, a trade unionist, and René Blum, a lawyer. The liberals were represented in the cabinet by Étienne Schmit. After the latter's death on 19 December 1937, they found no successor who was acceptable to the other parties, and officially withdrew from the coalition on 11 July 1939. For personal reasons, the Workers' Party replaced René Blum with Victor Bodson in April 1940, only a few weeks before the German invasion and the government's departure into exile.