FDP Deputy Chairman Wolfgang Kubicki expressed confidence that the current public interest in him will benefit the party. Addressing the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”, he lamented that the FDP had been “publicly invisible” during the previous year, noting that his candidacy over the past three weeks had marked a significant change in that regard.
Kubicki added that while political rivals and media outlets had expected the FDP to succeed, the connection between the name Kubicki and the FDP brand currently needs to be rebuilt. He stated that this association will change immediately once he takes up the chairmanship.
He described his appearances, where he finds the public “often enthusiastic”. According to Kubicki, the appeal lies not necessarily in the specifics of what he says, but in “a feeling that people connect with me”. While he sometimes hears that he is viewed as “the one who speaks plain truth” he distanced himself from that characterizing label. Furthermore, he confirmed the FDP’s goal of achieving polling numbers “significantly above five percent” by May of next year.
Regarding his internal challenger, Henning Höne, the FDP regional head in North Rhine-Westphalia, Kubicki emphasized that the two men “have no problem with each other”. He stressed that his goal is to support Höne’s significant regional chapter rather than undermine it. Overall, Kubicki remains optimistic, asserting that even his critics will ultimately support his election because they share the same objective: the success of the FDP.