The Free Democratic Party (FDP) is planning to raise the special contribution required from its party members in order to finance state and municipal election campaigns. According to reports from Spiegel, the FDP intends to ask its membership to contribute more heavily than in the past due to ongoing financial difficulties.
A motion presented by the federal board for the digital party conference in November suggests that Free Democrats will soon have to pay a higher annual special contribution to a dedicated Campaign Fund. This fund was initially established in 2015 to support campaigns for regional and local elections. Additionally, the minimum membership contribution is slated to increase from 10 to 13 euros. An FDP spokesperson confirmed this planned measure ahead of the upcoming party conference.
This financial push is prompted by the party’s recent electoral setbacks. The Free Democrats failed to regain entry into the federal parliament during the February 2025 Bundestag election and subsequently failed to surpass the five-percent electoral threshold in several regional elections. Because of its poor performance in the federal elections, the national party receives significantly less government funding, meaning it can no longer contribute as much as before to the Campaign Fund. The internal motion states that the party is now in a significant financial imbalance, a proposal which has been signed by young party members and numerous regional branches.
Therefore, the motion proposes increasing the special levy for members-currently €20-by €10 annually, starting next year and continuing until 2029. This particular levy was originally introduced by the liberals after they failed the five-percent hurdle for the first time during the 2013 federal election, in response to shrinking finances.
