“Free travel for free citizens” was an ADAC slogan in the 1970s. The motto could also be the motto of a current FDP resolution, which calls for easier traffic.
The FDP demands a transport policy that is pro-car and largely rejects restrictions such as the conversion of streets into bicycle and pedestrian zones. City centers should become more attractive for drivers again through free parking or cheap flat-rate parking. This is what a resolution of the FDP executive committee envisages. “We do not want an ideological mobility policy,” emphasized FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai afterwards. The car must not be deliberately disadvantaged.
“A culture war that is one-sidedly against the car is a culture war against the reality of people’s lives, particularly in states like Brandenburg and rural regions,” said Brandenburg FDP leader Zyon Braun. He is to lead a working group set up by the Liberals to deal with transport policy.
Free parking to prevent inner cities from bleeding
With the push for free short-term parking or a nationwide parking model based on the 49-euro ticket for local public transport, the aim is to “counteract the bleeding of cities,” said Braun. However, he admitted that the federal level can only ask municipalities to take such measures because the parking issue falls under their responsibility.
Working on construction sites around the clock
The FDP’s list of demands also includes allowing young people aged 16 and over to drive accompanied. Green waves are to be made more effective through digitalization and artificial intelligence. For construction sites, the FDP is demanding work on weekends and at night, as well as in three shifts. Its list also includes well-known positions such as the abandonment of a general speed limit on motorways and alleged plans by the EU Commission to shut down millions of diesel vehicles. However, Brussels has stated that it is not pursuing any such plans.
Source: Stern
