Relations between the two co-prime ministers, Ranariddh and Hun Sen, deteriorated from March 1996, when the former accused the CPP of repeatedly delaying the allocation process of low-level government posts to FUNCINPECs. Ranariddh threatened to pull out of the coalition government and hold national elections in the same year if his demands were not met, stoking unease among Hun Sen and other CPP officials. The following month, Sihanouk presided over a meeting between several royal family members and senior FUNCINPEC officials in Paris. Sihanouk attempted to reduce tensions between FUNCINPEC and the CPP by assuring that FUNCINPEC would not leave the coalition government and that there were no reactionary elements planning to bring down Hun Sen or the CPP. In March 1997, Sihanouk expressed his willingness to abdicate the throne, claiming that rising anti-royalist sentiment among the populace was threatening the monarchy's existence. In response, Hun Sen tersely warned Sihanouk that he would introduce constitutional amendments to prohibit members of the royal family from participating in politics if he followed through on his suggestion. As Widyono saw it, Sihanouk remained popular with the Cambodian electorate, and Hun Sen feared that, should he abdicate and enter politics, he would win in any future elections, thereby undercutting CPP's political clout.