Simplify the following text for a Grade 9 native English-speaking person.
Original: After this strategy gave the SPD an unexpectedly clear victory at the polls in September 1998 , he was appointed Federal Minister of Finance in the first government of Gerhard SchrÃ der .
Simplified: This idea put the SPD ahead in the opinion polls in September 1998 . He was appointed Federal Minister of Finance in the first government of Gerhard SchrÃ der .