“Stable” at federal level
Lindner doesn’t want to know anything about the FDP crisis
02/13/2023, 12:40 p.m
The election result in Berlin is a blow to the FDP. According to party leader Lindner, there will be no change in strategy. A political triad should continue to fix it for the liberals.
The FDP only gets 4.6 percent of the votes in the repeat election in Berlin and is therefore no longer represented in the House of Representatives. Chairman Christian Lindner doesn’t want to know anything about a crisis in the party. “The surveys at federal level show a stable situation,” said Lindner. However, the result of the Berlin election was clear. The FDP lost both votes to the Union and to non-voters. The Liberals could not have benefited from the mood of change.
As a federal party, the FDP adjusted its course a few months ago, Lindner continued. “We continue to pursue a clear strategy that has not yet paid off in Berlin.” You will bring success in the medium term. Lindner spoke of a political triad that his party would continue to adhere to. On the one hand, the FDP wants to ensure that Germany is well governed. Furthermore, there will be a number of liberal modernization projects in the future, such as the acceleration of bureaucratization processes. In addition, his party wants to remain a “guarantor for the center” and campaign against “bans, shackles and new debts”.
Lindner left the political classification to his top candidate Sebastian Czaja. “There is a mood of change in Berlin,” confirmed Czaja. You saw that at the CDU. “For us, the election winner must not be overlooked.”
Czaja had previously spoken of a “pull effect towards the Union”. Swing voters in particular decided to make the CDU as strong as possible. The FDP lost around 29,000 voters to the Christian Democrats. “That’s a good percentage point, if not a bit more.” Czaja said of his own future: “It will sort itself out in the next few weeks as I continue and what I do.” He cannot yet answer yes or no as to whether he will remain in state politics.
According to the preliminary result, the SPD and the Greens both have 18.4 percent of the votes, with the SPD just ahead. The left slipped to 12.2 percent.