The decision is made: The FDP is launching a membership decision to remain in the traffic lights. But what does the vote mean? Is the coalition on the verge of collapse?
Berlin – Get out of the traffic lights – yes or no? At the FDP, the members now have the say. After weeks of controversy within the party, the Federal Executive Committee of the Liberals has started the vote to remain in the federal government. Board member Christopher Gohl announced this on X (formerly Twitter). The initiative under the motto “Wake-up call” is now hoping for active participation. But will party leader and Finance Minister Christian Lindner actually give up if the majority of his party wants that?
The decision has been made: FDP starts member survey about the traffic lights being turned off
The FDP member survey is to be carried out as an online vote and, according to a report in Bild, will last a total of 14 days. The question asked of members is: “Should the FDP end the coalition with the SPD and the Greens as part of the federal government?” During the voting process, both pro and con arguments are supposed to be presented fairly.
Does Lindner have to tremble before the FDP's membership decision?
However, the result of the members' decision is not binding for the party leadership; it only serves to form opinions. The final decision on the fate of the traffic light government ultimately lies with the party leadership. Nevertheless, the will of the FDP members could have a significant influence on the future of the coalition. Because she couldn't completely ignore the mood at the grassroots level.
In any case, the FDP leadership is determined to continue the traffic light coalition. Parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr has already emphasized that it is his firm will that the FDP continues to be part of a federal government that actively shapes things. He also emphasized the importance of the FDP for the country's financial stability and argued that without the FDP, Germany would have higher debt levels, which would be wrong.
Vote on the traffic light coalition – that’s what initiator Matthias Nölke says
The initiative for the The membership decision was made, among others, by the Kassel politician Matthias Nölke, a former member of the Bundestag, was launched. He collected signatures from FDP members in order to have a vote on whether to remain in the traffic light coalition. To make the member survey possible, at least 500 signatures were required. Ultimately, 598 members supported the initiative.
The FDP rebels don't necessarily want a complete overthrow. They are even satisfied with the current party leadership. “I think Lindner is doing the maximum he can get out of it,” said Nölke in a recent interview fr.de from IPPEN.MEDIA about the FDP membership decision that has started. But the dissatisfaction is based on the traffic lights, to whose coalition agreement FDP leader Christian Lindner is “tied”. “It’s like when you start buttoning the top of a shirt wrong. You can’t solve it any further down,” says Nölke. Now it is time to draw conclusions – and to end the collaboration.
New election as a dead end: supporters and opponents of the member survey disagree
In any case, the prospect of new elections does not deter the initiators of the “wake-up call”. In the survey, the FDP is dangerously close to the five percent hurdle. But Nölke believes that voters would be more likely to appreciate it if the Liberals appeared determined and honest. But to what extent the majority in the party sees it the same way will become clear within the next fortnight. (jeki)
Editor Jens Kiffmeier wrote this article and then used an AI language model for optimization at his own discretion. All information has been carefully checked. Find out more about our AI principles here.
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