Against the Greens, an SPD minister and also against their own top people: the Young Liberals spoke a lot of frustration about the party soul at their federal congress in Weimar – and at the same time looked combatively towards the European elections.
The stage at the Federal Congress of Young Liberals in the Congress Center Weimar lights up in magenta, yellow and blue. Franziska Brandmann, the federal chairwoman of the FDP-affiliated youth association, set the tone: “Dear JuLis, the situation is serious.” And the 29-year-old continued: “It is difficult to govern in these challenging times.”
A good 500 young liberals came to Weimar. An estimated two out of three are male. There were a striking number of young delegates there, some not even 18 years old. Tablets and white sneakers dominated the picture – and one or two jackets could also be seen. The young liberals as a counter-model to the Fridays for Future youth.
In the last federal election in 2021, the FDP was extremely successful among first-time voters, sharing first place with the Greens. The FDP now governs together with the SPD and the Greens. But after two years, the traffic light coalition is doing poorly in the polls – and the FDP is already looking into the five percent abyss again.
coalition partner and communication
20-year-old Lukas Kamm came to Weimar from Lower Saxony. “It is certainly the case that some of our voters are dissatisfied with things that we cannot currently implement. Also because of our coalition partners,” he said. 19-year-old Arwed Zill from Saxony thought that the traffic light had a lot to offer. “But communication is of course extremely poor.” And the FDP is also involved in this. What particularly annoys him is “that the coalition agreement is consistently questioned by the Greens.” The young liberal is convinced that a lot has to change. “The traffic light will no longer have a chance in the near future if the issues of the economy and migration are not resolved.”
Economy and migration. A lot was about free trade, growth and competition. These are all basic liberal beliefs. But the loudest applause always came when the Greens were asked not to block a consistent change of course in asylum policy. Or when there is clear criticism of Fridays for Future International because of their openly anti-Israel stance.
“Nancy Faeser, step back”
JuLis leader Brandmann sharply criticized SPD Interior Minister Nancy Faeser because the terrorist organization Hamas is still not banned from operating in Germany, even though Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced this a good two weeks ago. “An interior minister who can’t do that should make her office available to those who can,” said Brandmann. “Nancy Faeser, step back.”
That was met with thunderous applause. But there was also criticism of their own top people among the liberal party’s junior ranks. General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai is responsible for one election defeat after another, the Bavarian JuLis boss called into the hall. And some demand that significantly more needs to be delivered in the areas of education, digital and transport. This was aimed at least indirectly at FDP Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger and Volker Wissing, the FDP Minister for Digital Affairs and Transport.
Phil Hackemann wants to go to Europe…
After two years of participation in government, there was still no impression that the core liberal issues were making any real progress, some said in the hallways. The JuLis’ top candidate for the European elections next June, Phil Hackemann, who was newly elected in Weimar, put it a little more cautiously: “The FDP ministers have already initiated a lot.” Almost nothing happened for decades under the previous federal governments, especially in the area of digitalization. A lot is now being tackled, says 28-year-old Hackemann. “But we as a digital party have to deliver even more.” The Young Liberals would hope for more here and that was made clear this weekend.
Hackemann is betting that the FDP will put him in a promising place on the European election list at a party conference at the end of January. Two of the five FDP MEPs are currently of JuLis age, which ends at 35.
… together with Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann
The FDP’s top candidate for the European elections is expected to be 65-year-old defense expert Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann. She also came to Weimar and signaled understanding for some of the discontent among young liberals: “I think it’s right that people throw up at a party conference.” But it’s one for all, all for one, says Strack-Zimmermann. “Only those who go forward will be elected. And not those who sit at home every day and lick their wounds.”
The FDP won 5.4 percent in the 2019 European elections. There should be more in 2024, said Strack-Zimmermann. She also relied on the party’s young talent as the Liberals’ campaign engine. Because the situation is currently serious for the FDP. But one thing also worked in the recent miserable state elections: the FDP is still significantly more popular among first-time voters than among all other age groups.