FDP vice-chairman Wolfgang Kubicki has launched his bid for party leadership, with incumbent chairman Christian Dürr withdrawing his own candidacy to back Kubicki and maintain unity. NRW leader Henning Höne remains a challenger ahead of the late-May congress.
FDP vice-chairman Wolfgang Kubicki, 74, a long-serving MP from Schleswig-Holstein since 1990 and former Bundestag vice president, announced his candidacy for the federal chairmanship on Easter Sunday (April 5). In an interview with Bild am Sonntag, he said: "I want a party that leads the political debates in this country with new self-confidence, instead of following them." Kubicki pledged to restore the party's success, envisioning a clear, freedom-oriented FDP and proposing Martin Hagen as general secretary. His office confirmed the plans to Deutsche Presse-Agentur (dpa).
Incumbent chairman Christian Dürr, who had initially planned to seek re-election, withdrew after Kubicki's announcement. Speaking to Bild, Dürr stated: "I have no doubt that the FDP will be successful again. The prerequisite is a united formation. I contribute to that, support Wolfgang Kubicki, and will not run." A party spokesperson confirmed this to dpa. The federal executive board plans to resign en bloc at the congress.
The race remains contentious, with NRW FDP leader Henning Höne reaffirming his candidacy, backed by Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann. She criticized Kubicki in Tagesspiegel: "The FDP must be led into the future by a new generation, not just by old warhorses." Strack-Zimmermann had considered dual leadership but now supports Höne's solo bid. Kubicki has external backing from CDU politician Peter Harry Carstensen, who called him "the face of the FDP."
This unfolds against FDP's recent crises: failing the five-percent hurdle in March state elections in Baden-Württemberg and Rhineland-Palatinate, and losing Bundestag seats in the February 2025 federal election after the Ampel coalition's collapse and Christian Lindner's resignation. The party congress in Berlin at the end of May will decide the leadership.
