In 1987 Björn Engholm was the target of a smear campaign run from the office of his rival Uwe Barschel. Engholm then became minister-president of Schleswig-Holstein and chairman of the Social Democrats. By 1993 he was the favorite to become the party’s candidate for chancellor. Then it came out that he had known about Barschel’s methods earlier than he had said. He had made false statements in the late phase of the Barschel affair. On 3 May 1993 he resigned. A news portal summed it up: Der Verlust seiner Glaubwürdigkeit kostete ihn das Amt, the loss of his credibility cost him the office.