Christian Dürr, the chairman of the Free Democratic Party, together with the entire party board, resigned in response to the latest election results. They plan to run again in the forthcoming federal convention in May. Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Dürr said, “I am not thinking about resigning”.
He had offered the federal board a confidence vote, but the board explicitly declined that proposal. At his suggestion, the whole FDP leadership and the federal board accepted responsibility instead.
Dürr explained that he had taken the helm to renew the party. “I will set this direction, along with my own candidacy, for election at the federal convention” he said. Former FDP general secretary Nicole Büttner added that a new election would allow the party to decide its future direction.
In the state election in Rhineland‑Palatinate on Sunday, the FDP lost 3.4 percentage points. With only 2.1 % of the vote, it will not secure representation in the state parliament or in the state government.
Earlier in March, the FDP slipped 6.1 percentage points in the Baden‑Württemberg state election compared to 2021, finishing with 4.4 % and again missing the five‑percent threshold. Consequently the party is now represented in only six state parliaments.
Dürr was elected FDP chairman on 16 May 2025 after the party missed entry into the Bundestag in that year’s federal election and Christian Lindner announced his resignation. In the preceding parliamentary term, Dürr had served as the chair of the FDP Bundestag faction.
