Berlin After the state elections in Lower Saxony, FDP leader Christian Lindner sees the red-green-yellow government alliance under pressure. “The traffic light has lost its legitimacy,” said the Federal Minister of Finance. He pointed out that not only the FDP suffered a painful defeat. The losses of the Social Democrats and Liberals together are greater than the vote gains of the Greens. “Overall, the traffic light is a challenge that we have to face,” said the FDP chairman.
The party presidium had previously discussed the outcome of the state elections, which was particularly painful for the liberals. The FDP flies with 4.7 percent after almost 20 years from the Lower Saxony state parliament. In the party, too, many blame the federal traffic light coalition, which is unpopular with the liberal electorate.
That became clear on election night. A coalition will not work “if two partners are constantly developing ideas on how to spend even more money and even more money, and others have to constantly deal with the question of how to organize and finance the whole thing,” said Secretary General Bijan Djir- Sarai.
The FDP member of the Bundestag, Frank Schäffler, said: “The traffic light coalition hangs around our necks like a millstone.” “We’ll have to work on that, or this traffic light will get into rough water.”
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With the warning shot for the entire traffic light, Lindner is now calling on the coalition partners to realign. From his point of view, the FDP’s “position lights” should become much more visible. A new balance is needed between ecological conversion, social balance and economic reason. Lindner sees the FDP as responsible for the latter.
>> Read here: Six lessons from the Lower Saxony elections: comeback for red-green and fear of populists
According to participants, there is broad agreement in the party presidium that the FDP should emphasize and enforce its positions even more at the traffic light. At the same time, however, the question of how far this should go was discussed. Because blockades and constant arguments within the traffic lights would not do the FDP any good either, so the fear.
Lindner relies on “successful government action”
In any case, Lindner warned his party against panic attacks. “The strengthening of the FDP results from successful government action,” he said. The FDP leader clearly rejected the demand by some liberals to call the traffic light coalition up for grabs if necessary. “I lead the FDP,” was his answer to the question of corresponding statements from the party.
The entire FDP leadership fears that threats of a coalition break-up would do even more damage to the party. In the middle of the crisis, hardly anyone would understand that, the liberals would appear like gamblers. “We will continue the good governance in the federal government,” said Lindner. It is about “averting damage to the country”.
In this sense, Lindner also defended the 200 billion euro defense shield that the federal government wants to open. Before the executive committee meeting, the finance minister, together with chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and economics minister Robert Habeck (Greens), accepted the proposal from an expert commission for a gas price brake.
Lindner supports these measures, also to help the economy. Surveys among FDP supporters in Lower Saxony had shown that many are disappointed because of the lack of support for companies and the self-employed. At the same time, as finance minister, Lindner also wants to comply with the debt brake, and he emphasized that there will be no “dam breach in public finances”.
Nuclear power conflict unresolved
Despite the defeats in the elections in Lower Saxony and before that in North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein, Lindner does not see the need for a repositioning of the content. “The FDP knows what it wants and who it is,” he said. “The compass is clear.” However, it is currently not possible to organize sufficient support for these positions.
The party leader did not explain exactly how the FDP intends to implement its topics in the traffic light coalition in the future. This will be discussed. “We take our time,” said Lindner.
However, conflicts are already foreseeable. Lindner repeated the demand to let the nuclear power plants run longer during the energy crisis. The Greens and Economics Minister Habeck have so far only been willing to keep the two southern German nuclear power plants in reserve operation until April.
“The FDP does not change its factual attitude,” emphasized Lindner. He referred to studies according to which the continued operation of nuclear power plants could significantly reduce the price of electricity. In the Lower Saxony election campaign, the Liberals had placed a lot of emphasis on nuclear power. After the defeat, they want to hold on to it. “It’s not politics,” said Lindner, “but physics.”
More: The traffic light’s hidden power mechanisms: three high-ranking civil servants keep the coalition running.