analysis
Status: 06.01.2022 6:32 p.m.
Every year on Dreikönig, the FDP meets to determine the political course. For the first time since 2013, she is back in government responsibility. Party leader Lindner tries to differentiate himself from the traffic light partners.
“Against the new” is the motto at the Epiphany meeting of the FDP in 2022 – even if at first glance it looks like it did in the old year. Again Christian Lindner and the other speakers at the Stuttgart Opera have to do without an audience; Again, the Epiphany is a virtual rally due to the pandemic.
But a lot is new, says party leader Lindner in his almost one-hour, largely free speech. First and foremost, he himself is on the stage in a new role – as party leader of a coalition party in the federal government. Not everyone saw this coming a year ago. Since the FDP was in surveys at seven percent. But in September Lindner’s party got 11.5 percent in the federal election – and forged the traffic lights.
The FDP is back in power in the federal government and that already makes a difference, assures Lindner. In his opinion, this can already be seen with the most pressing issue of the traffic light: Corona. He addresses the crisis first and praises the management. The FDP had ensured that decisions about corona measures would now be made again in parliament. Thanks to the FDP, there are no blanket lockdowns.
Compulsory vaccination debate as a contribution to reconciliation
However, the fact that liberals are divided on the question of general vaccination requirements casts a shadow. Lindner makes a virtue out of necessity. He describes the compulsory vaccination as a sensitive encroachment on people’s right to self-determination, which must rightly be decided without party lines.
While some criticize that the FDP is not convincing in the crisis with its unclear position, Lindner sees the debate about the compulsory vaccination as a contribution to reconciliation in society. For him, the dispute of opinions is even a service to democracy. Lindner assures that the FDP is taking the pandemic seriously. According to the party leader, the Free Democrats are concerned with “maintaining consistent health protection on the one hand with as much social freedom as possible on the other.”
Freedom in responsibility
Freedom remains the guiding principle of the liberals. For the FDP this does not mean freedom from responsibility, but freedom in responsibility. The party leader is obviously interested in the clear message about Dreikönig: The FDP should remain recognizable with its own liberal accents – even in the new government responsibility.
In his speech, Lindner first appears as a party leader who promotes the profile of the FDP beyond core issues. Before the new finance minister talks about money and taxes, he talks about renewing society, diversity, immigration, social advancement and climate protection.
For Lindner, the fact that the focus is on the climate is actually the first major visible transformation since the federal election. One hardly talks about the speed limit anymore, but about billions in investments. “More than ever, I am convinced,” says Lindner, “that climate protection is not a niche topic, but an issue of prosperity and growth”. A topic “that does not belong in a niche, but rather at the center of our efforts”. Climate protection is decisive for competitiveness and prosperity.
“First comes the earning, then the distributing”
And then of course it’s also about the money. Lindner defends that he wants to use unused corona debts for the climate fund. The opposition accuses him of sleight of hand and falling over. For Lindner, however, the reallocation of the funds in the supplementary budget proves the ability to act in crises.
But he leaves no doubt that he wants to return to the debt brake as soon as possible. Solid finances remain a matter close to his heart. “It is and will remain a reality,” says Lindner: “First comes the profit, then the distribution. We have to remember it and go back there.”
Lindner keeps all coalitions open
“Against the new” – but the old FDP should remain visible. That is important for the upcoming election campaigns. In March, the FDP would like to move into parliament in Saarland. After that she wants to defend her participation in the government – with Jamaica in Schleswig-Holstein and Schwarz-Gelb in North Rhine-Westphalia. In Lower Saxony, too, people will vote this year.
The liberals have to strike the right balance: the traffic lights in Berlin should work and shine. At the same time, the FDP wants to keep options open for other coalitions in the countries. The FDP is not part of a camp, but an independent force, says Lindner. That means that she is still open to alliances with the Union, with which she would like to have “a real talk about the future”. “We are not interested in alienating ourselves from the CDU and CSU as Free Democrats,” says Lindner. “But on the contrary.”
The FDP leader now sounds downright diplomatic, who did not save with verbal attacks on the political competition in the federal election campaign. Lindner is statesmanlike. That is division of labor.
Djir-Sarai: “Attack Department will be part of it”
The future General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai, who is also on the stage in Stuttgart, announces a sharper tone: “Of course we will have to develop as a party and become even more attractive,” he says. “But the attack department will also be part of it. Occasionally, heated debates are necessary.”
You are part of a coalition. But a coalition is not a merger, says Djir-Sarai. The FDP is not in the same camp with the SPD and the Greens. But also not with the CDU and CSU. “I do not want to and will not be an additional government spokesman. My mission is FDP: a successful FDP.”
State elections as a measure of the success of the FDP mission
The state elections will be a first indicator of the success of the mission. Then the FDP has to deliver. At the beginning of the year, in any case, the Liberals are more successful than they have been in a long time. You co-govern in four federal states and in the federal government. Its chairman only led the FDP out of the extra-parliamentary opposition back into the Bundestag in 2017 and into government again in 2021.
There would certainly be thunderous applause from the party. But that is not possible in the opera house in Stuttgart due to Corona. Lindner is forced to celebrate with his FDP more quietly than desired – but very confidently. “On into the new” is for him personally on the day after Dreikönig. Then he will be 43 years old.