{
  "id": 18945988,
  "title": "Parteitag: FDP arbeitet an Comeback – Kubicki setzt auf Wirtschaftspartei",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/08/parteitag-fdp-arbeitet-an-comeback-kubicki-setzt-auf-wirtschaftspartei",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-08T13:36:57.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/politik/deutschland/parteitag-fdp-arbeitet-an-comeback-kubicki-setzt-auf-wirtschaftspartei/100268218.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "In the Party Conference, the FDP is working towards a comeback, with FDP Chairman Wolfgang Kubicki focusing on policies for economic growth. At the Federal Party Conference in Berlin, he warns of the consequences of economic weakness and financial worries that have made voters doubt the ability of democracy to solve problems. \"Germany is currently losing 15,000 industrial jobs every month: in the automotive industry, in suppliers, in metalworking, in machinery manufacturing, in chemistry,\" Kubicki said. \"If we don't quickly turn things around, we will lose more than just money. We will lose the belief that democracy best protects our interests.\" The FDP is signaling a new beginning in Berlin after failing to meet the five-percent threshold in the 2025 Bundestag election and subsequently losing several Landtag seats. The party headquarters withdrew and the long-time FDP leader, Christian Lindner, ended his political career to enter the business world. The Party is working on a Party Reform, with proposals including the possibility of a double leadership, more transparency in candidate nominations, and support for volunteers in election campaigns. The Prussian Pristidency convened in a conference room, while delegates were linked via video conference. Members from the federal states reported on their struggles, where the liberal network has largely collapsed. The Young Liberals warned that politics would no longer be conducted in the smoke-filled back rooms of the Bonn Republic. In the ground, liberal ideas were no longer popular. This year, the FDP lost elections in Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and also in Saxony-Anhalt, where it was part of the - currently still in charge - Land Government. The party is now only represented in the Landtags of North Rhine-Westphalia, Schleswig-Holstein, Hesse, and Bremen. The younger generations lack visibility. The most recognizable FDP face outside the party remains the combative EU politician and Defense Expert Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann. And the mood has changed. In the 2021 Bundestag election, the FDP had the strongest support among first-time voters with 23 percent - hardly imaginable now. Even on the FDP's own ground, there is now a competitor, the party Volt, which could be of interest to young people who are economically and technologically oriented. The FDP stands at a crossroads in the next year, preparing for elections in Schleswig-Holstein, North Rhine-Westphalia, the Saarland, Bremen, and Lower Saxony, said Kubicki in Berlin. He criticized the Green and SPD in Berlin for their efforts to form a government with the Left. From Berlin, the FDP chairman motivated the FDP delegates on the screens: \"Forward on the work, then out onto the street, to the people.\" In an interview before the Party Conference, he expressed confidence that the party would succeed in the Landtag elections in North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein in 2027. He said the \"Rhineland\" and felt \"deeply relaxed.\" But: \"If this does not succeed unexpectedly, I will stop. That applies to the FDP too. Then it was.\"",
  "summary": "Die Absperrgitter sind weg, der Andrang auch: Von Berlin aus ringt die FDP auf einem Bundesparteitag nach vielen Niederlagen um einen politischen Neustart. Haben die Liberalen eine Zukunft?",
  "key_points": [
    "FDP Chairman Wolfgang Kubicki focuses on economic growth policies at Party Conference",
    "Germany losing 15,000 industrial jobs monthly across various sectors",
    "FDP preparing for elections in several German states in 2027"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}