- Bavaria's FDP leader raises doubts about maintaining prominence
The leader of Bayern's FDP, Martin Hagen, is doubting if his party should carry on being a part of the Berlin traffic light coalition after the latest state election fiasco. "As the FDP, we need to be brutally honest with ourselves if this coalition still works," Hagen, who's also part of the federal FDP executive board, told the "Munich Mercury". "Breaking up the coalition isn't something to be taken lightly, but the traffic light coalition isn't winning over the public anymore. Things can't continue like this." Apart from the FDP, neither the SPD nor the Greens saw success in the elections in Saxony and Thuringia either.
Bundestag bid
Concurrently, Hagen announced his intentions to run for the upcoming Bundestag. "My objective is to get back into the state parliament with the FDP in 2028," the 43-year-old stated. "But to achieve this, the FDP first needs to get back into the Bundestag. I see that as currently at risk."
He decided to throw his hat in the ring and help spearhead a successful Bundestag campaign. Hagen was the Liberal group leader in the state parliament until 2023, but he couldn't secure a return with his party.
Lindner should stick around
If Hagen manages to make it to the German parliament, he assured there would be no vote of confidence for a renewed traffic light coalition. However, he urged against internal party squabbles over leadership: "I still believe Christian Lindner is the right party leader."
Hagen expressed his intention to contest in the upcoming Bundestag bid, aiming to regain a seat in the state parliament with the FDP in 2028. This, he emphasized, was crucial to their potential return to the Bundestag, currently at risk.
Despite his plans to join the Bundestag, Hagen underscored his support for Christian Lindner as the party leader, suggesting against any internal party conflicts over leadership.
