Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a member of the FDP party executive committee, has issued a warning regarding a potential shift of the Free Democrats toward the political right. Speaking to the Funke media group’s newspapers, the European politician asserted that the party’s mission is to “strengthen the political center and defend liberalism in its entire breadth, not to shift it to the right”. Citing Marco Buschmann, a former Federal Minister of Justice and also a member of the liberal party, she stated that anyone attempting to steer the FDP rightward would actually lead it to ruin. Strack-Zimmermann stressed that the party has historically remained strong when it was conceptually clear and committed to its core values, warning that there must be no doubt about this principle, especially today. For liberals, she emphasized that cooperation, relative moderation, or strategic compromise with far-right extremists cannot be permitted.
This warning was a direct reaction to recent statements made by party vice-chair Wolfgang Kubicki, who is a candidate for FDP party chairman. In a podcast titled “My Hardest Decision” Kubicki discussed the concept of a “firewall” concerning the Alternative for Germany (AfD). During the podcast, he stated that such a wall “is neither in the constitution nor legislated” adding that he would not skip attending an event simply because an AfD representative was present. He concluded that he would not base his political considerations on whether the AfD might approve or disagree, stating this aspect was “all rather irrelevant”.
When questioned further, Kubicki clarified his position: he would refuse to cooperate with the AfD or allow it to dictate terms, and he would not support any AfD motions. However, he maintained that he would not let his own legislative initiatives be dependent on the approval of the AfD. He reasoned that doing so would be naive, as it would effectively hand over the entire political agenda to the far-right party.