The old government remained in power. My Indian friends may wonder why I would attach so much importance to a vote of no confidence that eventually failed to do the trick. At this juncture I wish to acquaint them with a constitutional peculiarity that made the situation so exciting 25 years ago. The Federal President must comply with the request and appoint the person elected. This article proved to be the backbone of political stability in Germany.
Majorities are easily available to kick a government out of office.
However, it is so much more difficult to produce a majority to elect a new man to replace the present office holder. The Basic Law had learnt from the lessons of the Weimar Republic which so frequently was left with no one at the helm after a vote of no confidence.