At the Epiphany meeting, FDP leader Lindner manages to give the guests courage for the coming year despite the fever. It gives the longest speech, but Secretary General Djir-Sarai is also convincing, while the future European politician Strack-Zimmermann steals the show with some hearty sayings.
When Christian Lindner enters the stage of the Stuttgart Opera House, he blows his handkerchief again. He also has a fever, as he says shortly afterwards – but you shouldn’t worry about him. “That’s the difference between Marie-Agnes and me. She doesn’t need an infection to get up to operating temperature,” he said to the laughter of the audience, who had just witnessed and cheered a brilliant speech by the designated top candidate Strack-Zimmermann for the European elections . The Düsseldorf resident thus opened the election campaign for the election on June 9th.
Because of this and also because of General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai’s personal tone, the rally had less of a one-man show than in previous years. It was a difficult Epiphany meeting for the FDP leader, and not just because of his cold. He just had to survive a member survey on the question of whether his party should remain in the traffic light coalition. The result was extremely close – in favor of staying. But he didn’t talk about it any more than the previous speakers. In addition to Strack-Zimmermann and Djir-Sarai, there were FDP state leader Michael Theurer and the parliamentary group leader in the Stuttgart state parliament, Hans-Ulrich Rülke.
However, the topic was not completely hushed up. At the back of the stage there was a huge screen on which the slogan “anything but a draw” was emblazoned. At least that’s true for staying in the traffic lights. After the voting success, the FDP vowed to better communicate what it had achieved in and with the traffic lights. The Epiphany Meeting was the ideal stage for this. Lindner’s core message was initially a call for more optimism. He has the impression that there is a real desire for decline in Germany. “I’ll be honest: I can hardly take it anymore.” A society that no longer believes in its future is wasting it. There is a lot to do, but “muddling through”, a form of “We can do it” and “understanding” would not turn the situation around. A tip towards the Chancellery, because “underhook” is one of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s favorite words.
In the short version, Lindner then listed what the FDP grandees say at every opportunity: the law on the immigration of skilled workers, relief from income and wage taxes, the new citizenship law, reduction in bureaucracy and the Starting Opportunities Act. Lindner also called on the CDU to stop blocking his prestigious project, the Growth Opportunities Act, in the Federal Council and to enter into negotiations about it.
“I don’t accept any instructions from the CDU”
The party leader combined all of this with attacks on the Union and was touched by a statement by General Secretary Carsten Linnemann that it was “crazy what this government is doing with the country.” Lindner’s counterattack: The Union supported a “naive migration policy” for years and allowed the motorway and rail network to deteriorate. In energy policy, it was “madness” to phase out coal and nuclear energy at the same time. “I don’t accept any instructions from the CDU that we are not quick enough to sweep up the pile of broken pieces left behind.”
He justified compliance with the debt brake in detail. High interest rates led to increasing burdens; Germany must instead have a buffer for future crises and remain an anchor of stability in Europe. The Basic Law prohibits suspending the debt brake for this or that. In addition, investments are already at record levels. Critics counter that the national debt is so low that there is scope for more investment on credit.
The FDP leader assured the flood victims of help: “Anyone who gets into trouble through no fault of their own can rely on the solidarity of our society!” This could also be understood as a counter to voices from the SPD who had called for the debt brake to be suspended because of the floods. But that was only a last resort, a “last resort” for him, as Lindner later said.
No aggressive mood among the farmers
Lindner appeared before his FDP friends as a finance minister whose budget had been blown away by the Federal Constitutional Court. He admitted that it was “embarrassing.” A side effect of the hit-and-run process for the 2024 budget is the farmers’ protest. Lindner, but also Strack-Zimmermann, strongly condemn the attacks on Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck. Lindner called out to the farmers: “You’ve lost your way. Turn back!” Breach of the peace, coercion and damage to property are cases for the public prosecutor.
He also pointed out that farmers were heavily subsidized. They would also have to make a contribution to budget consolidation. Nevertheless, society has a special responsibility for farmers – but this also applies vice versa. Some farmers from the Baden-Württemberg State Farmers’ Association were also stationed at the Stuttgart Opera that morning. They told state boss Theurer that they also rejected the compromise on agricultural diesel. But the mood wasn’t aggressive – serious, yes, but in the end everyone shook hands.
With her speech, Strack-Zimmermann showed that she is the right choice for the FDP as Europe’s top candidate – at least for the election campaign. Cheers and applause greeted her as she entered the stage. With the words “I haven’t said anything yet,” she got the first laugh. With her usual loose mouth, she called for help for Ukraine (“Putin thinks the EU is total wimps”), described herself as a “total Europe freak” and attacked the President of the EU Commission for allegedly growing bureaucracy with the saying: “We need less of the Leyen and more of freedom!”
If you’re looking for more peace and quiet, you should “call Moscow,” said Strack-Zimmermann. The demand for a stronger Bundeswehr has nothing to do with warmongering – which activists in the audience chanted. She would like to know from Sahra Wagenknecht and Alice Schwarzer what they said about thousands of rapes in Ukraine.
Giving immigrants a “domestic identity.”
Secretary General Djir-Sarai spoke passionately about migration policy – as usual, he said that Germany needs immigration of workers, but not into the welfare state. But he also combined this with personal tones. He said his family had to flee after the 1979 revolution in Iran and was scattered around the world. “When I call my cousin in California and ask him, ‘What are you?’, he says, ‘I’m American’.” His cousin in Canada describes himself as Canadian and another cousin in Australia says he is Australian without hesitation.
But when he asked his family in Germany, they thought for a long time and then said: “I am a citizen with a migration background.” That is why it is so important to give the children of refugees and immigrants in Germany a “domestic identity”. He received strong applause for this, just as there was for Lindner and Strack-Zimmermann.
This morning in Stuttgart there was no sign of the traffic light opponents in the party. It was a successful start to the year for the FDP leadership. In any case, the Liberals’ willingness to argue or – to put it more politely – their enthusiasm for discussion is likely to remain intact in the traffic light coalition.