Before the backdrop of low opinion poll numbers for his party, Christian Lindner left open the question of whether he will again run for the FDP chair at the party convention after the federal election. “The voters will have their say in February first,” Lindner told the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” in response to a question about a potential re-election as party leader.
At the FDP federal party convention in the spring, the election of the party leadership is due to take place in a regular rotation. Lindner has been leading the FDP since December 2013, making him the FDP leader with the longest tenure in office. According to polls, it is currently uncertain whether the FDP will even manage to gain entry to the Bundestag again in the early federal election on February 23. Lindner said that at the spring party convention, “anyone can run.”
He confirmed his decision to stay in office after the so-called D-Day paper became known, with which the FDP’s exit from the government coalition had been prepared in the party’s central office. He stands by the view that the FDP wanted a different politics or new elections. He still believes that to be right. “That’s why I’m convinced that I can gain credibility and new support precisely with this decision.”
FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai and Federal Director Carsten Reymann had resigned due to the D-Day paper.