The Left always lobbies for a liberal successor to a departing pope. JP I was thought to have been the culmination of the Liberal efforts. He survived 33 days. That could well have been a factor in the choice of the conservative JP II. God sometimes writes straight with crooked lines.
Actually, JPI was more conservative than JPII, and had made the mistake of announcing (not publicly, since he was there only a short time) that he intended to reverse many of the post-Vatican II mistakes and in particular, that he planned to do away with the Novus Ordo and restore the Old Mass. That’s why there has always been speculation that he was poisoned.