Will the Liberal Democratic Party (FDP), known for its ability to make or break majorities in Germany, still be represented in the Bundestag after the February 23, 2025 elections? The party is going through a crisis that endangers its short-term future, after several press investigations revealed how it had planned its break with the coalition of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) on the afternoon of November 6.
On Friday, November 29, less than one hundred days before the legislative elections, the two main leaders of the party: its general secretary, Bijan Djir-Sarai, and then its federal director, Carsten Reymann, resigned. Both expressed their desire to preserve their organization, after having made public an internal document that confirms information from several German media, according to which the FDP had hatched plans “Developing D-Day scenarios” before the break with the government coalition.
At the end of the 2021 legislative elections, the FDP formed an alliance with the SPD and the Greens to govern the country. But relations within the coalition have continued to deteriorate, and growing ideological differences between a Keynesian-inspired SPD and an FDP have turned budgetary orthodoxy into a political totem. On November 6, in the middle of the discussion on the 2025 budget, Olaf Scholz ended up dismissing Christian Lindner, his Finance Minister and president of the FDP, causing the breakup of the coalition and making the holding of early elections inevitable.
“I am forced to make this decision to avoid any harm to our country.the chancellor then explained. We need a government capable of acting, that has the strength to make the necessary decisions. » Christian Lindner had tried to present himself as a victim, accusing Olaf Scholz of having planned his departure for a long time.
A “scandal”
The FDP, which initially denied the information in this regard, is confused by its own internal documents, which describe precisely how the break with the coalition could occur, the ideal moment to intervene and the communication that will accompany the event, including the speech that Christian Lindner was going to speak on the day of his departure from the government. In this way, the FDP hoped to rise in the polls, since the coalition was especially unpopular among public opinion. He then hoped to lead a campaign on his favorite issue, the economy, as Germany endures its second year of recession.
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