 According to another estimate, the percentage of West Germans living in poverty during this period fell from 2.7% to 1.4%.Brandt's "Ostpolitik" led to a meltdown of the narrow majority Brandt's coalition enjoyed in the "Bundestag".In October 1970, FDP deputies Erich Mende, Heinz Starke, and Siegfried Zoglmann crossed the floor to join the CDU.