Will the Liberal Democratic Party (FDP), renowned as a kingmaker for its ability to form or bring down majorities in Germany, still be represented in the Bundestag after the elections of February 23, 2025? The party is going through a crisis which is jeopardizing its short-term future, after several press investigations revealed how it had planned its break with the coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on the evening of November 6.
Friday November 29, less than a hundred days before the legislative elections, the two main leaders of the party – its secretary general, Bijan Djir-Sarai, then its federal director, Carsten Reymann – resigned. Both expressed their desire to preserve their organization, after having made public an internal document confirming information from several German media, according to which the FDP had planned “D-Day unfolding scenarios” ahead of the break with the government coalition.
At the end of the 2021 legislative elections, the FDP formed an alliance with the SPD and the Greens to govern the country. But relations within the coalition have continued to deteriorate, with ideological differences increasing between a Keynesian-inspired SPD and an FDP making budgetary orthodoxy a political totem. On November 6, in the middle of a discussion on the 2025 budget, Olaf Scholz ended up dismissing Christian Lindner, his finance minister and president of the FDP, causing the breakup of the coalition and making the holding of early elections inevitable.
“I am forced to make this decision in order to avoid any damage to our countrythe Chancellor then explained. We need a government capable of action, which has the strength to make the necessary decisions. » Christian Lindner had tried to present himself as a victim, accusing Olaf Scholz of having planned his departure for a long time.
A “scandal”
The FDP, which initially denied the information concerning it, finds itself confused by its own internal documents, which describe precisely how the break with the coalition could take place, the ideal moment for it to intervene, and the communication to accompany the event, including the speech that Christian Lindner was to give on the day of his departure from the government. In doing so, the FDP hoped to rise in the polls, the coalition being particularly unpopular in public opinion. He then expected to lead a campaign on his favorite theme, the economy, as Germany goes through its second year of recession.
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Source: Lemonde