Christian Democratic Union of Germany The SPD quickly gained popularity and succeeded in forming a social-liberal coalition with the FDP following the 1969 federal election, forcing the CDU out of power for the first time in their history. The CDU continued its role as opposition until 1982, when the FDP's withdrawal from the coalition with the SPD allowed the CDU to regain power. CDU Chairman Helmut Kohl became the new Chancellor of West Germany and his CDU–FDP coalition was confirmed in the 1983 federal election. Public support for the coalition's work in the process of German reunification was reiterated in the 1990 federal election in
Historical rankings of Chancellors of Germany office of German Chancellors. The given numbers show the percentage of people agreeing with the statement that the named Chancellor was a good one: It was not asked for the first three German Chancellors (Adenauer, Erhard, Kiesinger). In December 2013, Forsa reasked 1002 Germans to name the most notable German Chancellor: In May 2015, YouGov asked 1111 Germans to name the best German Chancellor in their opinion: Historical rankings of Chancellors of Germany Historical rankings of Chancellors of Germany are surveys conducted to construct rankings of the success and popularity of the individuals who have served as Chancellor of Germany