Former FDP top politician Volker Wissing (non-party affiliated) has delivered a harsh critique of his former party. “It truly pains me to see a party tear itself apart and jeopardize its future. But the reasons are quite obvious,” the former FDP state leader in Mainz and ex-Federal Minister of Transport told broadcaster NDR Info.
Wissing highlighted the negative impact of the Liberals’ role within the “Ampel” (traffic light) coalition government, comprised of the SPD, Greens, and FDP, under Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). “The FDP had voted with a clear majority at the federal level to enter the ‘Ampel’ coalition, only to immediately begin questioning its own freely made decision. It criticized its own government instead of supporting it.”
Furthermore, he argued that the FDP had consistently shifted towards the right-libertarian camp. “A party that declares the state its adversary, that claims the state is our problem, naturally faces difficulties when tasked with proactively shaping the state.” These difficulties were also evident within the “Ampel” coalition. “The FDP wasn’t even sure if it wanted to negotiate compromises or if it preferred to prevent any solution from being reached at all.” Wissing stated that the FDP must clarify this ambivalence, otherwise, it will remain largely unattractive to voters. Wissing himself, currently active in the business sector, rules out a return to politics.
The Liberals garnered merely 2.1 percent in Rhineland-Palatinate. Similarly, in their traditional stronghold of Baden-Württemberg, they failed to clear the five-percent hurdle in the state elections two weeks prior.
