Parties - After member survey: FDP wants to assert itself more strongly
Following the narrow vote by FDP members to remain in the coalition, the Liberals want to make their signature more visible in the coalition with the SPD and Greens. The FDP must "become better and more assertive in the coalition", said deputy party leader Wolfgang Kubicki on Deutschlandfunk radio. Deputy party leader Konstantin Kuhle told the Deutsche Presse-Agentur that the FDP must persistently stand up for issues that it believes are right. "In addition to a solid budget and financial policy, this also includes the reform of social security systems in the new year, for example through the equity pension provided for in the coalition agreement."
In the FDP member vote, 52.2% voted in favor of continuing the coalition government's work. 47.8 percent wanted to end the alliance, as the party announced on Monday. 26,058 of the approximately 72,100 members took part in the survey. 65,899 members were entitled to vote. The difference can be explained by the fact that only those who are listed in the membership directory with an email address were able to take part in the digital vote. The survey has no practical consequences. The party leadership is not bound by the result according to the statutes. It is merely an opinion poll.
Briefing at the Epiphany meeting
On Platform X the day before, FDP party leader Christian Lindner interpreted the outcome of the member survey as a "clear mandate to continue to show a liberal profile in government action". He will be able to show what this should look like this Saturday at the traditional Epiphany meeting of the Liberals in Stuttgart.
On Deutschlandfunk radio,Kubicki appealed to the coalition partners to make the country fit for reform. The appeal is directed in particular at the Greens, who have stopped and torpedoed a number of joint projects in recent weeks. With a view to the preparation of the federal budget for 2024, which has not yet been adopted, the Vice President of the Bundestag warned that farmers should not be unduly burdened. He said that improvements needed to be made to agricultural diesel and vehicle tax for agricultural vehicles.
"A majority of participants want to continue to push through liberal content in the coalition," Kuhle told dpa. The result would also force the party to continue to concentrate on factual work in the coalition. However, the FDP politician also said that many members felt uncomfortable with the policies of the federal government. This sentiment should be respected, said Kuhle, who is also Chairman of the FDP in Lower Saxony.
Is the result an incentive or a "warning shot"?
FDP board member Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann saw the survey result as an incentive: "The result shows us that the members are of the opinion that we should implement and enforce even more free democratic policies," she told the Rheinische Post. The majority were of the opinion "that we should continue to fulfill our responsibilities in government".
One of the initiators of the member survey, Matthias Nölke, called the upcoming budget consultations a "first litmus test" to ensure that the party leadership had understood the outcome of the member survey. The Kassel FDP leader called the vote a "clear warning shot" on the WDR5 radio station. He expects the party to "stand on its hind legs more". "The country is heading in the wrong direction. And the FDP is helping a policy for which it was not elected... to a majority," lamented Nölke, citing energy and migration policy.
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- Despite the narrow victory in the FDP member survey, Deputy Party Leader Wolfgang Kubicki emphasized the need for the Liberals to become more assertive in the coalition with the SPD and Greens.
- According to Konstantin Kuhle, the FDP's Deputy Party Leader, the party must persistently advocate for its beliefs, such as reforming social security systems and maintaining a solid budget policy, as outlined in the coalition agreement.
- Christian Lindner, the FDP party leader, viewed the survey result as a clear mandate to maintain a liberal profile in government actions.
- Wolfgang Kubicki appealed to coalition partners, particularly the Greens, to contribute to reforms, citing farm subsidies and vehicle taxes as areas of improvement.
- Konstantin Kuhle acknowledged that while many FDP members were comfortable with the coalition, others had reservations about the federal government's policies.
- Matthias Nölke, one of the initiators of the member survey, described the upcoming budget consultations as a "first litmus test" for the party leadership, implying that the result was a "clear warning shot" for assertiveness.
- Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, an FDP board member, saw the survey result as an incentive, encouraging the party to implement and enforce more liberal policies in the coalition.
Source: www.stern.de
