Henning Höne, a candidate for the FDP’s federal leadership, attributes the party’s dire situation to the inability to achieve a credible fresh start since the Bundestag elections. Speaking to “Stern” the North Rhine-Westphalia FDP state chairman stated, “There was a lack of distance from the ‘Ampel’ era; a restart requires a break”. He emphasized the need to show voters who previously supported the FDP that it has been rebuilt. “My offer for the federal chairmanship makes this personal restart very clear”.
The party’s vice chairman, Wolfgang Kubicki, had announced at Easter Sunday that he too intended to run for the chairmanship during the conference in May. Höne remains committed to his candidacy. The 39-year-old asserted, “My offer stands regardless of who else runs. For success, there must be various perspectives within the party”.
Höne cautioned against forcing directional decisions at this time, arguing, “I do not think we should be forcing direction decisions now. We must not split the party further. I stand for unity rather than division”. According to him, the new chairman must unite the party and consciously utilize the strengths derived from its differing focuses.
The FDP, according to Höne, is in an existential crisis that is more profound than when the party first missed parliamentary representation in 2013. “The FDP is not missed at the moment” he asserted. He noted that many people approach him saying, “We need your ideas, we need your perspective”. While the public desire is for liberal politics, the party itself is currently unwanted by many. “The FDP has a gap to fill” Höne concluded.
For the necessary relaunch, Höne also plans to implement a new communication style. “We must be optimistic and solution-oriented, foregrounding our narrative and our unique selling points: the market economy, civil rights, and the principle of merit” he said. However, he also stressed the necessity of courage in taking strong stances. “I want to rediscover the leading role on social media that we once had”.