Germany Buschmann to become new FDP General Secretary
Former Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann is to become the new FDP General Secretary. This was confirmed by a party spokesperson after the "Bild" newspaper first reported the news. Buschmann is to organize the election campaign for party leader Christian Lindner.
01.12.2024, 12:12
01.12.2024, 12:13
SDA
Buschmann told the newspaper: "I feel very honored by the great trust placed in me. The liberal party must now show that it has the best answers to get the economy back on track and protect the freedom of every individual from bureaucracy and state encroachment. That is our task now."
Controversial paper triggers tremors in the party
FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai resigned on Friday. In doing so, he drew the consequences of a controversial Liberal strategy paper on the exit from the traffic light system becoming public. Federal Managing Director Carsten Reymann also resigned.
The FDP's so-called "D-Day" paper contains a detailed scenario for the FDP's exit from the traffic light coalition with the SPD and Greens. It describes the FDP's possible exit from the traffic light coalition using military terms such as "D-Day" and "open field battle".
The coalition broke up at the beginning of November after a bitter dispute over the course of budgetary and economic policy. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) fired his Finance Minister Lindner, thereby forestalling the Liberals' exit.
Lindner had said that his party's working paper had never been discussed in political committees and that he had had no knowledge of it. He did not blame the employees who had drafted the paper. "I have overall responsibility for the FDP, and I am committed to that," he said on ARD's "Tagesthemen" program.
Buschmann knows party headquarters
The 47-year-old Buschmann knows the FDP party headquarters well and is considered a close confidant of Lindner. Born in Gelsenkirchen, he was Federal Managing Director of the FDP from 2014 to 2017, and previously Secretary General of the FDP in North Rhine-Westphalia from 2012 to 2014. Buschmann was Federal Minister of Justice from the end of 2021 until the break-up of the SPD/Greens/FDP coalition.
After Djir-Sarai's resignation, Buschmann tried to go on the offensive. He wrote on Platform X: "Right now, a liberal party is more necessary than ever. As an antithesis to state overreach and bureaucracy. As a protective force for individuals and their freedom." This is an important and serious matter.
FDP in danger of failing at the five percent hurdle
New elections for the Bundestag are scheduled for February 23. The FDP must fear for its re-entry. The Liberals' election chances are unlikely to have improved as a result of the turbulence of the past few days. The FDP currently stands at 3 to 4 percent in the polls - a good distance from the critical five percent hurdle and miles away from the 11.5 percent in the 2021 federal election.
