Zyon Braun, the Brandenburg state chairman of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), has announced that Henning Höne could become the party’s new national leader. Braun told “Spiegel” that Höne offers a “fresh face” while also bringing parliamentary experience to the role.
Höne had revealed earlier this week that he intends to run for the party chair at the national convention scheduled for the end of May. In doing so, he is effectively challenging the incumbent Christian Dürr. Braun said that the party needs a new leadership team to restore trust, leave past mistakes behind and organize a genuine turnaround. “Henning Höne can deliver that” he added.
Hans‑Ulrich Rülke, a member of the FDP Presidium, called for a clear restructuring of the party’s leadership. According to him, the FDP must distance itself from its federal history-particularly its association with the “traffic‑light” coalition-and pursue a decisive break. Rülke warned against ideological censorship and even suggested the possibility of adopting a new name. Discussions about renaming the party had already taken place in 2013, the year the FDP failed to secure a seat in the Bundestag for the first time.