Wolfgang Kubicki, the FDP’s vice chair and presidential candidate, has announced a political relaunch for his party, detailing key personnel and policy shifts. Speaking on the POLITICO Berlin Playbook podcast, he stated, “I am not the future of the FDP, but I want to ensure that the FDP still has a future”.
For the party’s leadership, Kubicki is advocating for incorporating new and female faces. Alongside Martin Hagen as the general secretary, he mentioned Linda Teuteberg, Susanne Seehofer, Katja Suding, and Maria Westphal, adding that “they should become part of my presidium”. He believes the federal board must project a stronger outward image, stressing the need to “convince voters”.
On policy matters, Kubicki announced his intention to abolish Paragraph 188 of the German Criminal Code concerning insults against politicians, describing it as something that “annoy people more than it helps”. Furthermore, he called for reducing state interference, arguing, “Prosperity is earned in the economy and not by the state”-and adding that such spending is no longer sustainable for them.
Regarding his own tenure, Kubicki kept his plans open. He remarked, “I don’t know if I will still be the head of the FDP in three years”.
