Following the 1926 May Coup, a new government under Premier Kazimierz Bartel was formed on May 15, 1926. To the surprise of many analysts, Gabriel Czechowicz became new Minister of Finance. He remained in this post only for a few weeks, to be replaced by Czesław Klarner. After a few months, when Jozef Pilsudski became new premier, Czechowicz once again became the Minister of Finance (October 2, 1926). His priority was to reform the tax system, in order to balance the budget. By May 1927, the interest rate was lowered to 8%, which was still higher than France (3.5%).