This allowed a successful censure vote against the government of Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg over the Saverne Affair in 1913 and the passage of the Reichstag Peace Resolution of 1917.

However, the Centre and the Progressives were unwilling to act consistently in opposition, which left the government largely free to do as it wished.

[4] In an attempt to increase support for conservative parties and policies and to distract the population from the SPD, they hoped to drum up patriotism in an external conflict with Russia or another Eastern European state such as Serbia.

Georges Weill, an SPD candidate who won a seat in Metz, defected to France at the start of World War I.

Since 1869, suffrage was available to all residents who: Since 1888, a constitutional amendment required elections to be held every five years.