Erich Honecker agenda now being the composition of the Politburo. Krenz and Mielke attempted by telephone on the night of 16 October to win other Politburo members over to remove Honecker. At the beginning of the session on 17 October, Honecker asked his routine question of “Are there any suggestions for the agenda?” Stoph replied, "Please, General Secretary, Erich, I propose that a new item be placed on the agenda. It is the release of Erich Honecker as General Secretary and the election of Egon Krenz in his place." Honecker reportedly calmly responded: "Well, then I open the debate". All those present
Erich Honecker treason was dropped in March 1990). As a result, Honecker was placed under house arrest for a month. Following the lifting of his house arrest, Honecker and his wife Margot were forced to vacate their apartment in the Waldsiedlung housing area in Wandlitz, exclusively used by senior SED party members, after the People’s Chamber decided to put it to use as a sanatorium for the disabled. In any case, Honecker spent the majority of January 1990 in hospital after having the error of the tumour missed in 1989 corrected after the suspicion of cancer was confirmed. Upon leaving hospital on