In the Weimar Republic, extreme forces on the left and the right could bring down a government together without agreeing on a successor. The authors of the Basic Law wanted to avoid exactly this error. Under Article 67, the Bundestag can express its lack of confidence in the chancellor only by electing a successor with the majority of its members. Forty-eight hours must pass between the motion and the vote. The procedure has been used twice. In April 1972 it failed against Willy Brandt. In October 1982 it succeeded, and Helmut Kohl replaced Helmut Schmidt.