after the 1969 federal elections, west germany's cdu/csu alliance found itself out of power for the first time since the founding of the federal republic. at this time, strauss became more identified with the regional politics of bavaria. while he ran for the chancellorship as the candidate of the cdu/csu in 1980, for the rest of his life strauss never again held federal office. from 1978 until his death in 1988, he was the head of the bavarian government. his last two decades were marked by a fierce rivalry with cdu chairman helmut kohl.