In 1999 he defeated the chairman of the SPD parliamentary group in the Berlin House, Klaus Böger, for the leading place among the SPD’s candidates and was indeed again a member of the Chamber of Deputies, but trailed well behind Diepgen, the mayor.
He outdid Klaus Böger, the SPD's top representative in Berlin, to secure the top spot among the SPD's candidates and was again a member of the legislature, but trailed Diepgen, the municipal leader.