The FDP in the district of Munich will be running in the state elections in autumn 2023 with the Kirchheim district councilor Katharina Diem as a direct candidate in the constituency Munich-Land Nord. The 34-year-old engineer prevailed on Thursday evening at the nomination party conference of the Liberals in Grasbrunn much narrower than her inner-party rival Veit Wiswesser, 64, than expected in advance. 14 of the delegates voted for the former pilot and today’s entrepreneur Wiswesser, Diem, who also enjoys the support of the district board around the chairman Michael Ritz, came to 16 supporters.
The FDP in the district is currently being completely reorganized in terms of personnel, which is also related to the fact that the district executive has refused the incumbent member of the state parliament, Helmut Markwort, a renewed candidacy in the Munich-Land Süd constituency. In the coming week there will be a vote on the direct candidacy between Grünwalder Marco Deutsch, 60, and Bavaria’s former Economics Minister Martin Zeil, 66.
“It’s about how the living situation for families can improve,” says Katharina Diem
Diem from Kirchheim sees the fact that she had to defend herself against a campaign vote as an expression of “diversity in our party”. According to the mother of two, it shows that the FDP has many good people to offer. She wanted to score points in the election campaign with the topics of childcare, better schools and care, she told the SZ. “It’s about how the living situation for families can improve and also about the question of what we do with our parents in old age,” says Diem. She also wants to contribute her experience as a district councilor in the Maximilianeum, because it shows that the municipal level often reaches its limits. “That was the case with the topic of occupational support, which I was very committed to and which was actually buried by the CSU,” says Diem. “In the end, the state is responsible and you have the right lever.”
As early as next week she wants to consult with her strategy team and prepare the election campaign. She is also confident of being able to get a promising place on the Upper Bavarian list of the FDP. “I think a place in the top five is possible,” said Diem. She is not afraid of internal party competition from the southern constituency in the Munich district. “We will come to a common solution,” says the Kirchheim resident. Her team also includes 26-year-old Raphael Karlisch from Ismaningen. The municipal council was nominated in Grasbrunn as a list candidate for the state elections.