SAIONJI chose not to give his consent to add a new genro, (even though some, such as Gonbe YAMAMOTO, had been nominated) because he was trying to abolish the old genro system; however, it became an impossible task for him to select a successor on his own, because of the party cabinet's collapse and the military emergence resulting from the May 15th Incident as well as his own aging.
西園寺は古い元老制度を廃止するためあえて元老の追加には同意しなかったが（山本権兵衛などが候補としてあげられた）、五・一五事件による政党内閣の崩壊と軍部の台頭、自身の高齢化によって西園寺単独による後継選定は不可能な状態となった。