The FDP is doing poorly in the surveys. But this hardly bothers the party conference in Berlin: the mood is good and party leader Lindner makes a celebrated appearance. This is mainly due to one topic.
Sarah Zickler rummages in her bag. “Here,” she says, pulling out a turquoise piece of fabric, “I had it specially printed.” She unfolds a T-shirt that says “12 points for economic change” on it. It shows the back, “there’s something else there too”: It has stated in bullet points what the FDP wants to ensure more economic growth, from A for “adjustment of the income tax rate” to R for “liberalize pensions”.
Zickler is one of 662 delegates who traveled to the FDP federal party conference in Berlin this weekend. In the middle of Kreuzberg, in a disused post station that is now a large event location, for two days the focus is almost exclusively on what can be read on Zickler’s T-shirt: a new economic policy that the party leadership has adopted in the past weeks and months “Economic turnaround” was hyped up and summarized in those twelve points.
This resonates at the grassroots level. “I’m really excited about what the party executive committee has put together,” says Zickler. Whatever you look at her. The entrepreneur, herself a candidate for the European Parliament, beams, her eyes sparkle when she speaks. “We were really missing something like that. It’s good for us to finally focus again on what sets us apart: economy, growth, prosperity. That’s pure FDP.” (You can read more about the FDP’s twelve-point plan for the economy here.)
Lindner speaks for more than 70 minutes
Many people you currently talk to among the Liberals sound like Zickler. The FDP, it seems, is self-sufficient these days: on the edge of the political death zone, in surveys between four and six percent – but still very satisfied with its own performance. The puzzle pieces “economy” and “liberal” fit here as well as “social” and “state” do for the SPD. Finally, many say, we can concentrate again on the core behind which everyone can unite.
And to make it feel even better, to make the whole thing seem even bigger, more significant, almost everyone adds: After all, that’s what the country needs now. Sooner or later the voters will understand this, and then it will be reflected in the polls, you’ll see.
Party leader Christian Lindner only provides an indirect answer in his speech on Saturday. He speaks for more than 70 minutes. The hall is full to the last seat, there is always loud applause, there is hooting and cheering. “We must not ignore the wake-up calls about our competitiveness,” says Lindner. “No amount of praying for health helps,” “what we need is sober realism.”
“Economic strength is a factor of geopolitics”
In between, Lindner displays graphics on the large LED screens that show the decline in expected economic growth and Germany’s fall from sixth place to 22nd in the international comparison of competitiveness. It almost looks like an economics lecture, only the red laser pointer is missing.
But the “economic turnaround” that Lindner has sworn the delegates to and which they want to adopt later in a key motion is more for the FDP. “Economic strength is a factor in geopolitics,” explains Lindner. Without them, Germany’s word will never again have the weight in the world that it needs in the face of war and crises. And: A flourishing economy is the prerequisite for ensuring that there are no social struggles over distribution and that democracy is not successfully questioned by populists. Alluding to a favorite project of the Greens, Lindner says: “The economic transition is the best democracy promotion law you can have” – triggering thunderous applause.
