The break-up of the governing coalition was precisely planned by Christian Lindner‘s Free Democrats (FDP) in Germany, according to an exposé by Die Zeit and Süddeutsche Zeitung newspapers. The event has caused strong reactions and turmoil in the political scene, a few months before the elections.
The new setting in Germany’s governing coalition
As revealed by the two newspapers, which cite testimonies of people involved in the planning, the beginning of the operation “D-Day”, as it was called, took place with a meeting on September 29 in a villa in Potsdam, a few kilometers away from Berlin, and many meetings followed. in the coming weeks. Strategic planning documents emerged from the meetings detailing all the steps that would be taken to break up the coalition without holding the then finance minister Christian Lindner and his party responsible for it. The whole enterprise is even described by its initiators as a “script”.
Among the documents that had been prepared was the 18-page “text of positions”, codenamed “torpedo”, which was presented by Mr. Lindner to his government partners with demands that could never be accepted by the Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens, such as the suspension of climate policy and pension cuts.
SZ also reports that from the beginning the majority of participants were either in favor of the FDP leaving the government or simply considered its early end very likely. However, there are two versions regarding the course and nature of the meetings. According to the first, Mr. Lindner initially just wanted to probe the mood of his executives and discuss different scenarios. According to the second version, the decision to dissolve the government coalition was made in essence already at the September 29 meeting.
What do the FDP and the SPD answer?
Asked to comment on the reports, a representative of the FDP limited himself to stating that in recent months there had been “repeatedly and in various cycles” an assessment of the party’s participation in the government. “Of course, scenarios were always considered and the mood of the executives was explored“, added the same representative.
«This direction shows how low Christian Lindne has fallenr,” commented SPD caucus leader Rolf Mützenich, stressing that the events surrounding the breakup of the governing coalition are now being illuminated in a new light, while declaring he was deceived and disappointed, as he said he himself was looking for ways to compromise until the end . “The fact that the FDP called the D-Day plan and its 18-page text a “torpedo” horrifies me“, added Mr. Mützenich, speaking to the magazine Der Spiegel.
The general secretary of the SPD, Matthias Mears, spoke of a “theater of slander”, “fraud” and “dishonour” on the part of Mr. Lindner, who even accused Chancellor Olaf Solz of having planned his ouster and the breakup of the coalition. “I don’t expect Christian Lindner to have the greatness to apologize to the people. But if anyone from the FDP still has a shred of honor, then they should, with all humility.”said Mr. Mears and spoke about “a new low point in German political culture».
Source: APE – MEB
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