The former Vice President of the Bundestag and deputy chairman of the Free Democratic Party (FDP), Wolfgang Kubicki, intends to run for the position of the party’s new chairman during the party conference scheduled for the end of May. Speaking to “Bild am Sonntag” Kubicki stated his goal: “I want a party that leads the political debates in this country with new self-confidence, instead of following them”. He added that Germany needs an FDP that isn’t bogged down in academic discussions, but rather one that has made the country great, characterized by both clear political content and clear language-for freedom’s sake. Kubicki further promised the party’s delegates in May, “I will make an offer where they can be certain: I will do everything to make the party successful again”. According to “Bild am Sonntag” Kubicki plans to pursue Martin Hagen, a Bavarian FDP politician, as his partner for relaunching the party by positioning him as the general secretary. Currently, the existing chairman Christian Dürr and the North Rhine-Westphalian state chairman Henning Höne are also expected to run at the party conference at the end of May. Kubicki has also garnered support from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU); the former Schleswig-Holstein state premier, Peter Harry Carstensen, described his long-time associate to “Bild am Sonntag” as “currently the face of the FDP, someone people see and immediately know what he stands for”.
Kubicki Set to Challenge for FDP Party Leadership
