Berlin Wolfgang Kubicki has been around a lot in the past few days. In 48 hours he drove 1,200 kilometers by car and traveled another 1,400 kilometers by plane to campaign for the FDP in Bavaria and Hesse. From Friday to Sunday, Kubicki will be in Berlin at the FDP federal party conference, where the 71-year-old is again applying for the post of party vice.
Kubicki is one of the best-known FDP politicians, but also the most controversial. Many regular voters love his blustering manner. Outside of the core liberal clientele, many find him intolerable. The polarization also leads to discussions within the party: is Kubicki doing the party more good than harming it?
He has his supporters in the parliamentary group, including among younger MPs. In addition, Kubicki is one of the few veteran faces among all the young FDP hopes for young talent in the federal and state governments. And the FDP recently had problems with older voters in particular, without Kubicki it would probably be even worse.
But there are also critics who suggest that he withdraw from the party leadership. Kubicki’s “self-centered dubiousness does not convince a single person of liberal content,” complained Franziska Brandmann, chairwoman of the Young Liberals (Julis).
And FDP veteran Gerhart Baum, of all people, asked Kubicki not to run for office at the party conference, saying he was “not the future of the FDP”.
“I fear neither death nor the devil”
At the past party conferences, Kubicki was confirmed as party vice with well over 90 percent. Does he now have to fear a bad election result at the party congress? He himself is completely unimpressed. “I fear neither death nor the devil,” Kubicki told the Handelsblatt. “I’m not running to make a career.” He wants to help the FDP in the coming election campaigns and help them achieve double-digit results again in the next federal election.
At the past party conferences, Kubicki was confirmed as party vice with well over 90 percent.
(Photo: imago/CommonLens)
The fact that Kubicki is currently on the road a lot because he is invited by party friends to appear in Bavaria and Hesse shows how popular he is at the grassroots level. Decisive state elections for the Liberals will be held in both federal states in the autumn. After the FDP failed at the five percent hurdle in Berlin and Lower Saxony, success is now needed.
Kubicki is still considered a campaign support in the party. According to the party leadership, there are not many in the FDP who attract a few hundred supporters to events. Kubicki fills marketplaces and halls. You endure some trouble for that. When the 71-year-old goes over the rails again, his party says: “a typical Kubicki”.
The FDP Vice worked most recently on Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD). In doing so, he certainly hit the nerve of many liberals, who were increasingly bothered by the health minister’s panic mode in the corona pandemic. And Kubicki also likes to approach the traffic light partners, sometimes to the chagrin of party leader and Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner.
>> Read more: What is behind Kubicki’s dislike of Lauterbach
“Disputes are not negative,” says Kubicki. However, the FDP is not in opposition in the government. “These are the Greens, who don’t stick to agreements.” The Green coalition partner repeatedly draws Kubicki’s ire.
“I can understand that young liberals rub against me”
A few weeks ago he compared Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) with the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin. “Putin and Habeck have a similar belief that the state, the leader, the chosen ones, know better than the people what is good for them,” he said in a talk show on an Internet platform. That was too much even for Kubicki. A short time later he apologized to Habeck “in all due form”.
A few weeks ago, Kubicki compared Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) with the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
(Photo: imago images/Political Moments)
July boss Brandmann had criticized the statement as the “sad climax” of Kubicki’s failures. “Anyone who compares the Economics Minister of the FDP-backed federal government with a war criminal wanted by an arrest warrant is not worthy of the office of Deputy Federal Chairman of the FDP,” she said.
>> Read also: Putin comparison and targeted leaks: coalition climate hits new low
Kubicki takes the criticism from Brandmann and the Julis calmly. “I can understand that young liberals rub against me,” he says. “If this makes new talents better known, I’m happy to have my back.”
Anyone who criticizes him distinguishes himself. That’s how Kubicki sees it. It’s the self-confidence of a politician who knows that his party doesn’t want to do without him in the front row. And even if Kubicki gets a poor result at the party congress, he would hardly be quieter. He might see it more as an incentive.
More: Comment – The FDP manages the turnaround because it is fighting for free market principles again.