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A year before the federal elections, FDP leader Christian Lindner changed his secretary general. Volker Wissing is supposed to pull the party out of the ballot box as a bulwark against the “state economy” of the grand coalition. Enthusiasm was limited.
Germany is in an economic crisis, said the new FDP secretary general, Volker Wissing, in the speech in which he ran for his new post.
The applause from the delegates is friendly but anything but euphoric. With 528 of the 638 valid votes cast or 83 percent approval, the FDP elected Volker Wissing as the new General Secretary at its party conference in Berlin this Saturday. The 50-year-old Minister of Economic Affairs of Rhineland-Palatinate appeared unopposed. For comparison: Wissing’s predecessor Linda Teuteberg took office a year and a half ago with a 93 percent approval rating. In the pandemic jargon of German politics you could say: That had more “push.”
Germany is going through an economic crisis, Wissing said in the speech in which he ran for his new position. The country could overcome this crisis, but the state would have to contain itself. Like then, at the time of the economic miracle. “Private before the State” is the motto.
The result of the moderate elections in Wissing dovetails with the FDP constitution. For months, the party has been stuck in opinion polls just above the five percent threshold. Therefore, many delegates are concerned about the party in general and its mandates in particular. In the speeches of the management staff, however, this fear did not influence. The polls changed, party leader Christian Lindner said succinctly.
“In the end.” That’s the first word of Lindner’s speech. “Finally another party congress”. Society has learned a lot in recent months, especially about digitization. But personal contact is something else.
That is true, of course, and it is not true either. Because what takes place that day in the huge congress hotel in Berlin’s Neukölln district has little to do with a normal party conference. It is the first German party congress since the beginning of the pandemic, and the hustle and bustle that otherwise defines such events is prohibited. Participants can only remove mouth and nose protection when seated in place. Whoever moves in the hall should do so in a clockwise direction.
Like a master of ceremonies on a cruise ship
The president of the FDP speaks for approximately one hour and 15 minutes. Unsurprisingly, it begins with the pandemic. The first blockade of the country was necessary. But it came at a high price, and not just for the economy. Loving people have been separated, the elderly alone in nursing homes. That should not be repeated. Infections are set to rise again in the fall and winter, so now the country must take smart action. As an example, Lindner cites the digitization of the authorities so that his employees do not have to retrace the chains of infection by fax. There is applause for that. Despite this, hardly anyone in the room likely believes that the notoriously slow German authorities are getting to the present so quickly.
Lindner speaks freely. Just look once or twice at a small piece of paper in your hands. Instead of standing behind the lectern, he paces the stage with a headband microphone and looks a bit like a conférencier on a cruise ship in his tight black suit and open white shirt. At 41, the party leader remains one of the youngest members of the Federal Republic’s political scene. But he’s been in business longer than most. Lindner has led the FDP for almost seven years. No other party leader in the country has been in office for so long. You can tell the experience in him, not only in the good. As catchy as many of Lindner’s sentences are, his speech as a whole is expansive and without surprises.
Germany must now find its way back to normal mode, says FDP leader Christian Lindner.
Freedom of expression should not be restricted even during a pandemic, says the head of the FDP. But of course you shouldn’t join forces with “aluminum hat wearers.” There was more humanity during the confinement. But the people who discovered your “inner helper” are exhausting. Yes, the listener thinks. And that?
Warning of the “state controlled economy”
A first approach is education. The temporary VAT cut, due to expire at the end of 2020, has primarily triggered a bureaucratic effort, Linder says. With the government’s revenue shortfall, an estimated 20 billion euros, Germany could have digitized the country’s 35,000 schools, trained teachers, distributed equipment to everyone, and even repaired bathrooms. Now an “educational pact” is needed.
A second approach is what Lindner describes as the path to the “controlled state economy.” It was right to establish safety nets for companies and their employees at the beginning of the pandemic. In a situation where supply and demand are falling at the same time, the state has to react. But now Germany must find its way back to normal mode. It takes a U-turn and what’s more: a miracle. A new economic miracle.
At this point, Lindner explains the reason for the party congress. It shows a young woman who is planting a young tree. Older delegates still know him from the 50 pfennig coin of the old national currency. A different and better spirit prevailed in Germany in the 1950s, Lindner says solemnly. There was energy, resourcefulness and a willingness to take risks. I need it again today.
Instead, the government is heading in the opposite direction. The “national climate consensus” planned by CDU Finance Minister Peter Altmaier contains detailed regulations for every area of life and every year. “The Soviet Union failed because of its five-year plans,” shouts the leader of the FDP. “Peter Altmaier Comes Up With One Year Plans”.
“Have you finally seen it?”
Lindner describes the 2021 federal elections as a choice of direction: state economy or social market economy? The FDP is offered as an alternative to both black-green and green-red-red. She is ready to take responsibility. Translated: Lindner wants to rule. Only alliances with the Left Party and the AfD are taboo.
This is followed by an excursion on a topic that Lindner has been researching for almost three years. No interview can do without the theme of “Jamaica,” he says in a mocking, annoyed voice. “Have you finally seen it?” He imitates a journalist. What is meant is Lindner’s rejection of a government alliance with the Union and the Greens after the 2017 elections. It was probably a mistake, it has been the tenor of the media ever since.
At this point, the irritation of the head of the FDP is understandable. “No” still answers this question today, he says. However, in hindsight, I would choose a different communication strategy. Rather than simply ending conversations with the other parties, you should have announced a two-day break for reflection and listed the disputed points. The citizens would have had time to discuss it. Instead, communication was taken from the party’s hands. At this point there is loud applause. “Jamaica” remains an emotional topic in the FDP to this day.
Towards the end of the speech, the main topic of the day is the election of the new Secretary General. He, Lindner, is like a sports coach. You have to adapt your equipment and tactics to the situation. The decision to replace Linda Teuteberg as general secretary was not directed against her personally. The 39-year-old continues to be “an important part of our team.” And addressed to her directly: “Thank you.” That may be true. However, it is also understandable that Teuteberg did not want the previously non-existent post of FDP Eastern Commissioner that Lindner offered her instead. Three decades after the end of the division of Germany, it would have been a minor position. In the end, Lindner tries another prank. He started the day with Teuteberg hundreds of times. And then: “It’s not what you think now.” He and she spoke on the phone. Only a few laughs, all male, are heard in the hall.
The announcement of Teuteberg’s successor succeeds again without accident. Volker Wissing is an “all-rounder”, enthuses the party leader. A few hours later, the result of the election of the new Secretary General shows that not everyone in the FDP sees it that way.
