Upon the resignation of Chancellor Ludwig Erhard on 1 December 1966, a grand coalition of Christian Democrats and Social Democrats had governed West Germany under Federal Chancellor Kurt Georg Kiesinger (CDU) with SPD chairman Willy Brandt as vice-chancellor and foreign minister.

However, his counterpart Finance Minister Franz-Josef Strauss (CSU) rejected the Deutsche Mark's revaluation, because his strong constituents, the Bavarian farmers, also opposed it.

Brandt, who ran for the third time after 1961 and 1965, had shown sympathy towards those groups, like left-wing intellectuals and activists of the German student movement, who had felt ignored by the Christian Democrat-led coalition governments.

In addition, his clear intellect, remarkable self-control and honest manner appealed to ordinary West Germans.

Several party switches in protest against Brandt's Ostpolitik of FDP and SPD members resulted in the snap election of 1972.