Shortly before the 2010 state elections, Rüttgers's public image was damaged by a party fund-raising scandal, and local issues like education and the troubles of municipalities with heavy debt burdens were central to the campaign. He led his party to an electoral defeat; the steep drop of 10 percentage points compared with the previous election, in 2005, was even larger than most analysts had predicted and gave the Christian Democrats their worst postwar showing in that state. The loss also meant Chancellor Angela Merkel could no longer count on a majority for her governing coalition in the Bundesrat, composed of delegations from all 16 states. In July 2010, Rüttgers stepped down as caretaker premier and also gave up his position as state party chairman.