Washington Christian Lindner sounds sniffy. “Good morning from Washington,” the FDP leader announced via video link at the party conference, which was taking place in the Berlin event location Station. In Berlin it is Saturday shortly before twelve o’clock, in Washington, where Lindner is in quarantine with a corona infection, it is shortly before six o’clock.
It will be “the earliest speech”, but “not the most interactive”, introduces Lindner. This is ensured by a time delay of six seconds in the sound transmission, which is why the party leader cannot pause for applause and sentences of his speech are repeatedly lost.
But it’s not just the circumstances that are unusual, Lindner’s content isn’t a typical party speech either. The liberal sounds just as state-supporting as in the days before during his appearances at the spring conference of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). As with the meetings in Washington, the main focus of the congress is on Russia’s war against Ukraine.
“Ukraine must win this war,” says Lindner. The Finance Minister had already said this sentence in an internal meeting in Washington and received recognition from his colleagues. Now he repeats it publicly at the party congress, where there is also applause.
The Liberals want to distance themselves at least a little from the hesitant stance of Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his SPD and pass a motion calling for the delivery of more military aid. “Ukraine needs heavy weapons in order to be victorious,” says Lindner.
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Lindner names three conditions
The party leader lists three conditions for arms deliveries, which can also be found in the application for the party congress: Germany should act “in unison with our allies”, above all France and the USA. Deliveries should also not endanger the “own defensiveness” and ability to form alliances. And thirdly, Germany must not become a war party. “We have to do everything in our power to help Ukraine win,” says Lindner. But “your own safety” is a limit.
The FDP and the Greens are putting pressure on the Social Democrats, who are much more hesitant when it comes to arms deliveries. The FDP defense politician Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, who recently criticized the chancellor and called for significantly more support for Ukraine, received a lot of support at the party conference. After her short speech, she received standing applause from the delegates.
At the same time, party leader Lindner is careful that the FDP party congress does not turn into a settlement with the social democratic coalition partner. “Scholz is a responsible leader who weighs things up carefully,” says the party leader and warns against “general criticism” of the chancellor. Lindner: “The Chancellor has the confidence of the FDP.”
The criticism of the SPD is well dosed at the party congress, the Greens even receive praise. Lindner said he was “impressed” by the way Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) was promoting the delivery of liquid gas in Qatar. A green minister who is committed to fossil fuels and a liberal finance minister who voluntarily incurs more debt – Chancellor Scholz recently praised that.
Lindner advertises the traffic light coalition as a responsible government alliance that meets the demands of reality. On the other hand, he has sharp criticism for the CDU and CSU. The Union is trying to get the governing coalition into trouble in the debate about arms deliveries. “In times of war in Europe, I have absolutely no sympathy for this form of partisan political maneuvering,” says Lindner.
The finance minister also criticized the announcement by Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz (CDU) that he would only allow as many CDU/CSU MPs to vote for the planned EUR 100 billion special fund for the Bundeswehr in the Bundestag as are necessary if all parliamentarians from the traffic light groups agree. The FDP leader appealed to the Union to “stop party-political floor exercise”. The CDU and CSU would not live up to their political responsibility.
Finance Minister warns of stagflation
While Lindner is working on the Union, he refrains from criticizing the Greens, for example for the repeated demand for a speed limit. He is content with drawing two red lines that the FDP in the coalition does not want to cross. Tax increases are not only ruled out in the coalition agreement, the waiver is now “urgent” due to the economic situation. “The danger of stagflation is real,” says Lindner. Accordingly, one must ensure growth and combat inflation.
For Lindner, this also includes defending the debt brake, which he describes as the “gold standard of German state financing”. However, his praise of the debt rule was received only choppy at the party conference because the connection to Washington kept breaking down. And so the delegates only heard snippets of sentences from Lindner: “…stability of the prices…this…I can give you an assurance….the stability of our….”
Because of a corona infection, the leader of the Liberals could not attend the party conference in person.
(Photo: dpa)
The delegates try to bridge the breaks with applause, as if to cheer on the internet connection. The image of Lindner on the screen is frozen, you can see him with a clenched fist in front of the yellow wall of the Washington hotel.
Then the line stood still for a few seconds, and Lindner ended his speech with the motto of the party conference: “We’re changing the times.” The delegates stand up and applaud. However, the party leader is no longer aware of this.
More: Between cooperation and confrontation: Finance Minister Lindner is looking for a course in the traffic light coalition.