parties
Party deputy Kuhle is relieved about the FDP member survey
Konstantin Kuhle is also the Lower Saxony FDP chairman. photo
© Kay Nietfeld/dpa
In the FDP member vote, a narrow majority voted to continue the traffic light’s government work. Party deputy Kuhle is relieved and at the same time makes an appeal to his party.
The liberal parliamentary group vice-president Konstantin Kuhle was relieved by the result of the FDP member survey, according to which a majority wants to continue the traffic light’s government work. “A majority of the participants want to continue to enforce liberal content in the coalition,” Kuhle told the German Press Agency. The present result forces the party to continue to concentrate on practical work in the coalition.
In the FDP member vote, 52.24 percent voted to continue the traffic light’s government work. 47.76 percent wanted to end the alliance, as the party announced on Monday.
However, only 26,058 of around 72,100 members took part in the survey. The party leadership around the chairman, Finance Minister Christian Lindner, had campaigned for the coalition. The FDP federal executive board started the survey after 598 members submitted a request to carry it out. Members were able to participate online for two weeks.
The member survey has no practical consequences. According to the statutes, the party is not bound by the result. It’s just a mood picture.
Strack-Zimmermann sees the result as an incentive
But Kuhle also said that many members felt uncomfortable with the federal government’s policies. One should have respect for this mood, said Kuhle, who is also the Lower Saxony FDP chairman. The party must therefore persistently advocate for content that is correct from the FDP’s perspective. “In the new year, this includes not only a solid budget and financial policy but also the reform of the social security systems, for example through the share pension provided for in the coalition agreement,” said Kuhle.
FDP board member Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann viewed the results of the member survey as an incentive. She told the “Rheinische Post”: “The result shows us that the members are of the opinion that we should implement and enforce even more free democratic policies.” The majority is of the opinion that “we should continue to fulfill our responsibility in government,” said Strack-Zimmermann, who is also chairwoman of the Defense Committee in the Bundestag.
One of the initiators of the member survey, Matthias Nölke, continued to push for a new course for the Liberals on Monday. “The result is a clear sign of the dissatisfaction in the party,” the Kassel FDP district chairman told the German Press Agency on Monday. The party leadership must take this into account in its future actions in the traffic light government.