Kubicki resolves disputes with FDP leader Baum
Previous FDP minister Baum consistently and heavily slams party vice Kubicki. Kubicki has grown tired of this treatment. In a letter, he provides a strong rebuttal to Baum, the veteran party member.
FDP deputy chair Wolfgang Kubicki has retaliated against unrelenting criticism from ex-FDP federal interior minister Gerhart Baum. "I have opted to no longer remain silent in public about such insolence, if you persist with this approach," Kubicki writes in an open letter to Baum, published in the "Tagesspiegel". He labels these remarks as "inconsistent".
Kubicki specifically mentions allegations made by the 91-year-old Baum, criticising Kubicki's stance on the federal government's COVID-19 restrictions. In an article in the "Handelsblatt" at the beginning of 2022, Baum accused him of demagoguery. Kubicki refers to this as "audacious and dishonorable". He insists that he never downplayed the pandemic threat.
Recently, on the "Phoenix" channel, Baum commented on Kubicki: "He's causing trouble now." Kubicki responds in his letter: "While I may sometimes share this sentiment, I wouldn't use a TV channel to create a negative atmosphere towards a party colleague (who, incidentally, has been elected as deputy chairman by the federal party conference since 2013). Disputes that are openly aired in this manner always reek of power struggles."
At the same time, Kubicki acknowledges Baum's "notable achievements in safeguarding fundamental rights in the Federal Republic", but concludes his letter with a combative tone. "I have been my state party's leading candidate seven times and have been successful each time, even under the toughest conditions, such as in 2012," Kubicki writes, referring to Schleswig-Holstein. "I don't require public guidance from someone who has never won a state or federal election as a frontrunner, and who now primarily uses his public presence to distance himself from the party and its elected representatives." And he adds: "If you wish to engage in a public showdown with me, I'mgame."
FDP deputy chair Wolfgang Kubicki addresses his criticism towards former FDP federal interior minister Gerhart Baum in his open letter, challenging Baum's allegations of demagoguery and power struggles within the party.
Despite Baum's criticisms, Kubicki highlights his own successful election campaigns as the leading candidate in Schleswig-Holstein, asserting his independence from Baum's guidance.
