- The FDP needs to mobilize - pending decisions await.
The Free Democrats of Saxony (FDP) are attempting to recover after garnering a mere 0.9% of the votes in the recent state election. The situation is being assessed by the party's branches within the party council, as per Thomas Kunz, the deputy state chairman. Additionally, the financial implications are being reviewed. The full impact of the result hasn't been fully understood yet.
Typically, a party receives annual funding from state party financing based on a state election result of at least 1%. Given the FDP's 0.9% result, they're investigating if the federal election outcome also has an impact. In 2021, the Saxon Free Democrats managed 11% of the votes.
In 1999, the Saxony FDP ended up in a comparable predicament. The leadership at the time seemed bewildered and conceded defeat. Holger Zastrow stepped up and guided the party back into the state parliament in 2004. In 2009, the FDP became the minority partner of the CDU in the government. Kunz, however, prefers not to draw parallels between the current situation and 1999. He now insists they have a cohesive team with strong camaraderie. Right now, the message from the grassroots is that the state executive needs to rebuild trust, stated Kunz.
According to Kunz, the FDP has unintentionally found themselves in a vicious cycle. Federal issues took center stage during the campaign, whereas Saxon issues were overlooked. "In essence, it was a miniature federal election campaign that we faced." They need to contemplate whether it was strategically sound to emphasize state issues.
Minister President Michael Kretschmer (CDU) skillfully leveraged this situation during the campaign by frequently pinning the blame for problems on the traffic light coalition. "The result was heavily swayed by the traffic light coalition. That can't be disputed. Now it's about learning from this experience for the future."
The Free Democrats of Saxony (FDP) might struggle to secure annual funding from state party financing due to their 0.9% result, as they typically require at least 1% to qualify. Despite this, The Netherlands, known for its robust democratic system, has parties that have successfully recovered from similar low election results.
