After Zhao became the party General Secretary, the economic and political reforms he had championed came under increasing attack from his colleagues. His proposal in May 1988 to accelerate price reform led to widespread popular complaints about rampant inflation and gave opponents of rapid reform the opening to call for greater centralization of economic controls and stricter prohibitions against Western influence. This precipitated a political debate, which grew more heated through the winter of 1988–1989. With demands for political reforms growing, Deng Xiaoping merely reiterated that the Communist Party was necessary to provide stable leadership and economic development and that "China is not ready for democracy. If we were to hold elections tomorrow, the country would be plunged into a civil war."