 In the legislative elections of 1 March, the ruling Party of the Right lost its majority in the Chamber of Deputies, winning only 22 of the 47 seats.Unwilling to form a coalition with any parties that had blocked its railway reforms, Prüm was invited to form a government, provided that he could form a majority coalition.Taking in an eclectic collection of Radical Socialists and dissident conservatives, with the additional informal backing of the Socialist Party, Prüm's government took office on 20 March.