Former Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing sharply criticized the current direction of his former party, the FDP, and ruled out a return to a leadership position.
He blamed the party’s present ideological stance for its low approval ratings, saying: “The libertarian course that the party is following is highly questionable. In 2021 we did not enter the federal government on that basis; we had a broader understanding of liberalism”.
When asked whether he would consider a comeback at the party’s top, Wissing said outright “No. I am happier as a lawyer and satisfied with my firm. I’m looking forward to taking on clients again starting in May”.
In an interview with Speck, Wissing stressed the importance of focusing on what is best for the country, rather than “optimizing public relations”. “The search for ethically sound decisions should shape politics more than the pursuit of an optimal image” he added.
Reflecting on the end of the traffic light coalition, Wissing distanced himself from the FDP leadership’s actions. He noted that he had, every day, questioned whether he could take responsibility for what he was doing, and that at key moments he had chosen a different path from his party’s. He specifically cited the coalition’s collapse as a troubling decision, describing it as a “step that must be carefully considered”. He argued that the SPD, Greens, and FDP were all democratic parties with significant common ground and that they should be capable of negotiating compromises. “Democracy thrives on compromise, not on one side defeating the other” he observed.
Wissing laid out serious accusations concerning the strategic fallout of the coalition break for the FDP. He said the leadership failed to foresee the consequences and had “warned them that I was convinced the party would be driven into an existential crisis”. Looking at the party’s present situation, he noted that while it is difficult to see the outcome, he does not take responsibility for the decision he did not support.
