Berlin. He was FDP finance minister in the traffic light coalition and was partly responsible for its failure. What do you need to know about Christian Lindner?
- Christian Lindner is federal chairman of the FDP and was until recently finance minister in the traffic light coalition
- In the end, the alliance failed – and Lindner was fired
- Politics, private life, training: the most important information at a glance
Within just a few years, FDP leader Christian Lindner has not only helped the Liberals regain their glory, but has also become one of the most influential politicians in Germany. At times he was – politically speaking – at the top: Lindner was Federal Minister of Finance in the cabinet of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). But that is history, the traffic light coalition has failed.
How did Lindner make it to the top of his party? Where does he come from? Politician? And what do we know about his wife Franca Lehfeldt? The most important information in the profile.
Christian Lindner: The most important information about the politician in the profile
Christian Lindner – The most important things about his private life
Christian Lindner was born on January 7, 1979 in Wuppertal, where his grandparents ran a bakery. The future politician grew up in the Bergisches Land, more precisely in Wermelskirchen, around 40 kilometers northeast of Cologne. His father was a teacher of computer science and mathematics – but after his parents separated, Lindner lived with his mother.
Lindner graduated from high school in 1998 and then did his community service as a caretaker at the Theodor Heuss Academy FDP-affiliated Friedrich Naumann Foundation. During his studies, Christian Lindner became a reserve officer in the Air Force, and in 2002 he received the rank of lieutenant in the reserve. In September 2011, Lindner was appointed captain in reserve.
- Education: In 1999, Lindner began studying at the University of Bonn. His subject of choice: political science. He completed his studies in 2006 with a master’s degree. In the same year he began working on his dissertation under the direction of Frank Decker, which the FDP politician has not yet completed.
- Profession: Lindner gained his first professional experience while he was still at school; from 1997 to 1999 and again from 2002 to 2004 he worked as a freelance management consultant in electricity trading. In 2000, the politician founded an internet company with three partners, in which he was temporarily active as managing director. The company went bankrupt after a few years.
- Family: Lindner married “Welt” journalist Dagmar Rosenfeld in 2011, and they separated in 2018. He later married Franca Lehfeldt, also a journalist at “Welt” at the time. The two were criticized for possible conflicts of interest. Lehfeldt was accused of having information about a meeting on the Bundeswehr’s special funds, which she did not attend, but her husband did. She also came under criticism because, as a TV reporter, she avoided a question about possible conflicts with the FDP in the traffic light coalition. Lehfeldt has now set up his own communications and marketing agency.
Christian Lindner and Franca Lehfeldt married on Sylt in 2022. © imago images / APress | Unknown
Christian Lindner at the FDP: The most important stages of his career
Politically speaking, Christian Lindner is a real early starter: he joined the FDP at the age of 16 and founded a Young Liberals group in his hometown. Politics was initially a hobby for him, Lindner talked about his next steps in the field party: “It seemed to me at the time that the FDP in North Rhine-Westphalia needed to be more open to the concerns of young people. I said this during the debate at a state party conference in 1998. And then spontaneously for the state board is running.”
At the party conference, the young politician gave a rousing speech in which he… Realignment of the FDP called for in order to appeal to more young people again. Two years later, he became the youngest member of parliament in the history of North Rhine-Westphalia to enter the state parliament, where he was responsible for child, youth and family policy for nine years.
From then on, Lindner’s political career was unstoppable. In 2007 he became a member of the Federal Executive Board of the FDP and took over the office of General Secretary of the party from Gerd Niebel in 2009 at the young age of 30. Under party chairman Guido Westerwelle, Lindner devoted himself to developing a new basic program for the party. Only two years later, however, he resigned from his federal positions following internal party disputes. He then initially concentrated on state politics in North Rhine-Westphalia.
After the FDP left the German Bundestag in September 2013, it was time again for a change of chairman: Lindner returned to Berlin and became the Party leader chosen. In 2017, the FDP managed to re-enter the Bundestag as the fourth largest party under him. Participation in government in a Jamaica coalition would also have been possible. But Lindner canceled the exploratory talks in November and justified this as follows: The FDP would rather not govern than govern incorrectly.
Christian Lindner: What issues does the politician support?
Christian Lindner focuses his political work on the areas of economics, finance, education and digitalization. He represents liberal viewsis in favor of the least possible state interference in “the market”.
- He advocates a liberal economic policy with little government interventions and more individual freedom for companies. Lindner regularly criticizes high taxes and bureaucracy, arguing that they inhibit innovation and growth. As an example of this, he has spoken out vehemently against a wealth tax, claiming that it would deter wealthy entrepreneurs and investors.
- In terms of financial policy, Lindner is an advocate Debt brakewhich he sees as a contribution to generational equality. Early on, he described reducing national debt as a priority for the FDP. He repeatedly spoke out against tax increases.
- In relation to Education policy Lindner advocates modernizing the German education system. He calls for greater individualization of learning in order to do justice to the different talents and interests of students. He is a supporter of all-day schools to promote equal opportunities. Lindner criticizes digitalization in schools as inadequate and calls for better technological equipment and training for teachers in this area.
- In the outdoor and European policy Lindner emphasizes the need to reform the EU and liberalize its economic and financial policies. He is for a stronger Europe, but also for more personal responsibility for the member states. For example, during the euro crisis, he voted against bailouts for Greece, arguing that countries that fail to meet their obligations should leave the eurozone.
Christian Lindner has been federal chairman of the FDP since December 2013. © Maurizio Gambarini/FUNKE Photo Services | Unknown
Christian Lindner: Successes and controversies as Federal Finance Minister and FDP chairman
When the FDP took part in 2013 Five percent hurdle failed and was thrown out of the Bundestag, the party seemed to be at an end. The then party leader Philipp Rösler and the entire federal executive board resigned. Lindner then declared his candidacy for the presidency and was elected at the special party conference in 2013. “We rebuilt the party from below,” says Lindner, describing his work on the rubble.
In 2021, Lindner reached a milestone: he was elected again at the federal party conference Federal Chairman of the FDP elected and nominated as the top candidate for the federal election. Under his leadership, the FDP achieved 11.5 percent of the vote and became part of the traffic light government. Against the resistance of the Greens, the Liberals elected Lindner as Finance Minister in the coalition negotiations.
Lindner caused a stir with the purchase of a villa in the south of Berlin. He took one for financing Real estate loan at the Karlsruhe BBBank – and also wrote a written greeting for the bank. The Berlin public prosecutor’s office then initiated an investigation, but ultimately saw “no initial suspicion” of criminal behavior.
As finance minister, Lindner insisted on strict compliance with the debt brake. This led to disagreements within the country, just as the German economy was floundering after the Russian invasion of Ukraine Federal Government. In order to finance climate protection measures, 60 billion euros were reallocated at the beginning of Christian Lindner’s term of office, which the previous government had earmarked for combating the corona pandemic. The Federal Constitutional Court declared this step unconstitutional in November 2023. In the ensuing dispute over compliance with the debt brake and the federal budget, Lindner’s finance ministry imposed a budget freeze.
There was also a dispute over the so-called heating law from Economics Minister Habeck. It’s supposed to be that Heating transition in Germany, but for a long time the FDP missed sufficient technological openness in the proposals and criticized regulations that were too rigid. In the end, however, the coalition was able to agree on a joint bill.
Capital Inside by Jörg Quoos, editor-in-chief of the FUNKE central editorial team
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In the end, the disagreements in the coalition were probably too great: less than a year before the next scheduled federal election, it failed Traffic lightafter Chancellor Olaf Scholz fired Christian Lindner as finance minister.
