FDP parliamentary group member Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann has issued a warning against a perceived shift to the political right within the Free Democrats (FDP). Speaking to the Funke media group’s newspapers (Friday editions), she emphasized that the party’s role must be to strengthen the political center and defend liberalism in all its breadth, rather than pushing it to the right. Strack-Zimmermann warned that any attempt to steer the FDP rightward would lead to its downfall, echoing this sentiment from former Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann, who is also affiliated with the party. She stressed that the FDP has always been strong when it was clearly principle-driven and values-focused, an aspect she insists must remain undisputed today. For liberals, making compromises, drawing relative lines, or sacrificing strategic room concerning the far-right is impossible.
This statement was a reaction to the comments made by FDP vice-chair Wolfgang Kubicki, who is a candidate for the FDP chairmanship. In a podcast called “My Toughest Decision” by the Funke newspapers, Kubicki had stated his refusal to enforce a “firewall” regarding the AfD. He clarified that such a firewall is neither constitutional nor legally mandated. He declared that he would not skip an event simply because an AfD representative was speaking, nor would he base his political considerations on the potential agreement or disagreement of the AfD. He concluded that the party’s stance on the AfD was of “relative indifference” to him.
When pressed for more clarity, Kubicki confirmed that he neither intended to cooperate with the AfD nor allow himself to be placated by the group. Furthermore, he wouldn’t agree to any motions proposed by the AfD. However, he clarified that while he wouldn’t make his own proposals contingent on the AfD’s approval, doing so would be foolish, as it would effectively hand over the entire political agenda to the AfD.
