Ex-FDP treasurer resigns from the party

The entrepreneur and former FDP federal treasurer Harald Christ is leaving the Liberals. In a personal statement, Christ justified the move with non-partisan commitment to “free-democratic values,” which he wanted to expand “independently of ideological commitments.”

In an interview with the “Handelsblatt”, the Berlin entrepreneur also cited the developments surrounding the FDP’s controversial “D-Day” paper on the traffic light phase-out. He had been thinking about leaving for months. “But the developments of the past few days have accelerated this process,” said Christ.

The FDP’s “D-Day” paper contains a detailed scenario for the FDP’s exit from the traffic lights with the SPD and the Greens. It describes the FDP’s possible exit from the traffic lights using military terms such as “D-Day” and “open field battle”. The paper also sparked strong criticism within the party.

“I have come to the conclusion that this political skirmish of the past few months – and the role of the FDP in it – is not good for our country and it does not correspond to my values,” Christ explained to the “Handelsblatt”. “When I’m a member of a party, I’m identified with what that party does. I didn’t want that anymore. For me, attitude is important.”

In his personal statement, the entrepreneur wrote that he remained a “passionate social liberal.” During the election campaign he wanted to financially support the work of the SPD, CDU, CSU, FDP and the Greens. Christ resigned from his position as federal treasurer for the FDP in 2022 after almost two years. He joined the party in March 2020 and was previously a member of the SPD.