Parties - Vice parliamentary group leader Kuhle relieved about FDP member survey
Liberal parliamentary group deputy leader Konstantin Kuhle has expressed his relief at the result of the FDP member survey, according to which a majority want to continue the Ampel government's work. "A majority of participants want to continue to push through liberal content in the coalition," Kuhle told the German Press Agency. The current result will force the party to continue to concentrate on factual work in the coalition.
In the FDP member vote, 52.24 percent voted in favor of continuing the Ampel government's work. 47.76 percent wanted to end the alliance, as the party announced on Monday.
However, only 26,058 of around 72,100 members took part in the survey. The party leadership around the chairman, Finance Minister Christian Lindner, had campaigned for the coalition. The FDP Federal Executive Committee had launched the survey after 598 members had requested that it be carried out. Members were able to take part online for two weeks.
The member survey has no practical consequences. The party is not bound by the results according to its statutes. It is merely an opinion poll.
Strack-Zimmermann sees the result as an incentive
However, Kuhle 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. The party must therefore persistently stand up for issues that the FDP 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," said Kuhle.
FDP board member Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann saw the result of the member survey as an incentive. She told the "Rheinische Post" newspaper: "The result shows us that the members believe that we should implement and enforce even more free democratic policies." The majority were of the opinion "that we should continue to meet our responsibilities in government," said Strack-Zimmermann, who is also Chairwoman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag.
One of the initiators of the member survey, Matthias Nölke, however, continued to push for a new course for the Liberals on Monday. "The result is a clear sign of dissatisfaction within the party," the Kassel FDP district chairman told the German Press Agency on Monday. The party leadership must take this into account in its future actions in the coalition government.
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Source: www.stern.de
