Lower Saxony announced deeper cuts of education and municipal services. This set a stage for the 2003 election campaign. Wulff entered the race as the favourite to win the election. The Christian Democrats, in the political wilderness since 1990, were returned to power in the Legislative Assembly, gaining 48.3% of the vote. Wulff was sworn in as Prime Minister on 4 March 2003, as the head of a coalition between centre-right Christian Democrats and liberal Free Democrats (FDP).