The September 1940 federal election resulted in a hung parliament. The UAP–Country coalition was able to remain in power with the support of two independent MPs, Alexander Wilson and Arthur Coles. The Country Party lost three seats to the Labor Party, and on 16 October the parliamentary party voted to remove Archie Cameron as leader. John McEwen and Earle Page both nominated for the leadership, and Fadden intended to nominate for the deputy leadership. McEwen and Page were tied at eight votes each after three separate ballots. During a break for dinner, Fadden was asked to become interim leader as a compromise between the two candidates, with the intention that another leadership election would be held in a few months. He was then elected unopposed as deputy leader and thus acting leader of the party. According to his biographer Tracey Arklay, "Fadden was selected because the majority in the party room considered that he was the man most likely to be able to broker deals and negotiate with Menzies and the UAP". Edgar Holt believed Fadden's personality was a major factor – "he had no obvious ambitions and he suffered from no delusions of grandeur [...] he was amiable and gregarious" – but also thought that Page had allowed Fadden to assume the leadership in order to deny it to McEwen.