Christian Lindner wants to bring the FDP back to the top in the federal election in 2021. At the ZDF summer interview, he has important ideas to announce.
Berlin – The federal election in 2021 will take place in six weeks. In the hot phase of the election campaign, the top politicians absolutely want to present themselves to the voters from their best side again in order to give their party one last boost to the top. The annual summer interviews on ZDF are a good opportunity. Christian Lindner went through difficult years with his FDP, but that should change on September 26, 2021. But he will still have to do a bit of persuasion.
The voters: inside are likely to be skeptical as to whether the FDP can really do that with governance. On this Sunday (August 15, 2021), Christian Lindner was supposed to convince the people in the ZDF summer interview that the failed Jamaica negotiations four years ago were a big misunderstanding, because: They were, right? One thing is certain, the FDP wants to co-govern again, Lindner made that clear at the 2020 party congress.
Christian Lindner (FDP) wants to make the 2017 debacle forgotten
Christian Lindner absolutely wants to make the debacle of 2017 forget. At that time the CDU, FDP and the Greens had negotiated a joint coalition, but in the end the talks failed, the Free Democrats let them fall. Lindner said at the time – the FDP had been re-elected to the Bundestag after four years of abstinence – his famous sentence: “It is better not to govern than to govern wrongly.”
Back then, it was careless of Christian Lindner to let the talks break down quickly and, quite honestly, what kind of return would it have been? To try it with a soccer comparison: A team that moves up from the second division to the Bundesliga and becomes German champions – that would certainly have served their posh coach Lindner well.
| Surname | Christian Wolfgang Lindner |
| Political party | FDP |
| position | Federal Chairman |
| old | 42 years |
| place of birth | Wuppertal |
Then there is also the climate crisis. Week after week, children and young people demonstrate against climate change and its consequences. FDP leader Christian Lindner apparently did not like that, which is why he let himself be carried away to a critical statement in March 2019: “You cannot expect children and young people to already see all global connections, what is technically meaningful and what is economically feasible.” Rather, it is “a matter for professionals”. However, the statements made by the students often sound pretty professional.
Christian Lindner absolutely wants to raise the FDP into the government
Christian Lindner’s image in his own party was correspondingly damaged for a long time. But he has now launched an attack for the federal election in 2021, absolutely wants to raise the FDP into the government – and would even make concessions for this, very different from then. But the voters have to take part.
What is already clear before the ZDF summer interview: It will certainly be verbose, because Christian Lindner likes to try to drown his contradictions in a rain of words. And that’s how it begins, the ZDF summer interview, with a lot of words. Before we really get going, there is a little bit of small talk. It’s about Berlin, Lindner’s adopted home and about “trivialities” like Armin Laschet’s giggle in a serious situation. It is doubtful whether the voters would also consider this a minor matter, surveys show the opposite. Would have been smarter, Lindner would have said that maybe that wasn’t quite right.
FDP chairman Christian Lindner relies on issues instead of sympathy
Then it becomes thematically serious. Of course it is about Afghanistan, where the Taliban is on the advance after the withdrawal of the international troops. For him, the main focus is on an impending influx of refugees: “We now have to see that we can do something so that there is no new influx of refugees like 2015.” But he does not say exactly how that should work. That would have been the exciting question. However, the moderator Theo Koll does not ask any more questions, he also has to deal with many topics in the short interview.
Speaking of topics: That’s what matters to Christian Lindner, not sympathies or the like. And that’s where he sees himself closest to the CDU. “The CDU is in the process of shifting to the left. We are already left enough and the FDP is there to prevent a further shift to the left. ”That is why Lindner hopes that it will work out with the coalition this time – with the Union. “I lack the imagination of how red or green could make an offer to the FDP. You are much closer to the Left Party. ”Lindner is certain that the CDU will be commissioned to form a government. Watching glass balls is apparently one of his hobbies, or he has longed for it with the falling stars. If things go wrong, the FDP might be back in the opposition and Lindner will not become finance minister as he would like.
Lindner’s stance on the corona pandemic was clear: there should no longer be any restrictions for people who have been vaccinated twice, those who have recovered and those who have tested negative. “We should return to normal step by step.”
Christian Lindner (FDP) tries to keep his composure during the climate crisis
Yes, and then – as already mentioned above – there is still the climate crisis. A single player shows that this is not exactly the prime topic of the FDP. It never was and still isn’t. When the camera flashes back to Christian Lindner, he tries to keep his composure. “I can’t even find my position in this post,” he says, a bit snippy. He doesn’t say anything about the fact that he advised students to leave the subject to the professionals, which is perhaps better.
It is hardly surprising that the Porsche driver Lindner does not want to say goodbye to the combustion engine when it comes to mobility and climate protection and is once again bringing synthetic fuels into play as an alternative. He also wants Germany to become the “technology world champion” – with an “inventive spirit”, not with speed limits. And then the fun is over. So what remains of Christian Lindner, who, as always, spoke to the voters and moderator Koll in a chic suit and a perfectly fitting tie? No tax increases, no flow of refugees, no corona restrictions for people who have been vaccinated twice, those who have recovered and those who have tested negative, no speed limits and the hope that we will be “technology world champions” in just a few years. (msb)
