Franz Josef Strauss
In 2002, Edmund Stoiber was the candidate for Chancellor for the CDU/CSU, the first time a CSU politician was chancellor candidate since the candidacy of Franz Josef Strauss in 1980. Both CDU/CSU and the SPD polled 38.5% in the 2002 federal election. Since the Greens became larger than the liberals, Gerhard Schröder's government was reelected.