Traffic light off: The FDP leader’s prepared coalition break speech

According to the FDP’s published coalition break scenario, the planned process should have four phases. “Phase 1 – Impulse” was to be opened by party leader Christian Lindner with a statement. This was already formulated and had the following wording:

“Germany has fallen into crisis. We are experiencing the second year of recession in our economy and growing concerns about the future of our prosperity. Concern about jobs. Concern about pensions. Concern about social cohesion. Concern about our security in uncertain times. Concern about our democracy.

All of these concerns have one source: our economic performance. We have lost trust in ourselves and our country. We see problems everywhere but little hope for better times. But: Our growth problems can be solved; they only require decisive and decisive action.

For a year now, a debate has been raging in the federal government about the right course to take to stabilize our economy. The SPD and the Greens want to stimulate investment and consumption with subsidies, controlled wages and prices, high social spending. With new debts and on credit.

The FDP wants to improve the structural conditions of the location. Lower taxes, less bureaucracy, affordable social contributions.

These fundamentally different approaches to economic policy cannot be resolved through a compromise. While the government coalition is not even implementing what it agreed to in the summer, the SPD and the Greens are putting economic policy proposals on the table that will never have a chance of being implemented with the Free Democrats. This can only be seen as an introduction to the federal election campaign.

The dispute over direction in the federal government has itself become the greatest location risk for our country. Companies and foreign investors are holding back investments because they don’t know where Germany is headed. We cannot tolerate this standstill and this indecision for another year. It’s about jobs, it’s about people, it’s about the future of 83 million. The federal government has stepped up to end the country’s standstill at the end of the Merkel era. But after 3 years the traffic lights also came to a standstill.

That’s why this federal government must end now. We must hold new elections quickly so that the German population can decide in democratic elections which path our country should take. Let’s take the path of a state-planned economy, with subsidies and lots of regulations. Or let’s go back to the strengths of the social market economy. Free entrepreneurs, clear rules, performance that pays off and social protection for those who need it.

We Free Democrats do not want the traffic lights to hold the country hostage. Germany is urgently waiting for reforms – now! We are paving the way for early elections. We call on all Democrats in the Bundestag who bear responsibility today or want to bear responsibility in the future to join us in initiating an orderly process for early elections. We are taking the first step towards this today.”