The FDP leader assures that the Chancellor must have no doubts about the majority for the government. He considers CDU leader Merz’s request for a vote of confidence to be “oppositional gymnastics.”
After the coalition dispute over the budget, which was painstakingly resolved, FDP leader Christian Lindner gave the traffic light alliance a guarantee of existence – despite the outstanding member survey of his party on whether to remain in the government.
“The 2024 budget is in place and the Chancellor must have no doubt about the majority for his government in parliament,” said the Federal Finance Minister to the Germany editorial network. A chancellor only has to ask a question of trust, as requested by Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz, if he is no longer sure of his majority. Merz’s demand is part of “the usual oppositional floor exercises.”
The FDP member vote did not stress him out, said the party leader. “It is an opportunity to make it clear that the FDP is helping to shape the direction of the government,” he said. The other options – Lindner spoke of the Union joining an SPD-led grand coalition or the SPD and the Greens continuing as a minority government – were “certainly not the better alternatives for our country”.
Kubicki: Resignation would be “evidence of political weakness”
FDP vice-president Wolfgang Kubicki called on party members to vote against ending the traffic lights in the survey. “I expect that there will be no majority for leaving the government,” he told the “Stuttgarter Zeitung” and the “Stuttgarter Nachrichten”. “Because it should be clear to everyone that we can hardly go into an upcoming election campaign with the slogan: We failed, vote for us anyway.” In his view, “a resignation from the government would be a sign of political weakness.”
The FDP wants to organize the survey of all of its members online. The result is considered to be an indication of the mood and can fuel the discussion within the party, but without having any immediate consequences. The federal statutes state: “The party’s organs are not bound in their decision-making to the results of the member survey.”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
