As the new government was unable to provide basic services, it soon lost the support of the conservative Bavarian countryside, necessary for any government to hold together in the rural province.[1] Eisner's USPD was defeated in the January 1919 election, coming in sixth place, with only 3 per cent of the vote, and only garnering three seats in the provincial legislature (the Landtag), while the Bavarian People's Party, which, despite its name, was conservative, got 66 seats. Eisner, apparently because he was loath to give up power, delayed calling the Landtag into session until public pressure from all quarters – including a death threat from the Thule Society if he did not give up his office – forced him to. Finally, he set the legislature to meet on 21 February 1919,[13] more than a month after the election.[14]