Even after the fourth defeat, FDP leader Christian Lindner does not see his party on the defensive.
That sounds like whistling in the woods.
The Liberals did not achieve an election goal this year: in Saarland they failed to re-enter the state parliament, in Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia they were kicked out of government and in Lower Saxony out of parliament.
State-specific reasons certainly played a role, but the FDP also underperformed in surveys on federal politics.
Linder wants to work out the profile as a "liberal center party" better.
He should do that before the memory of the unfortunate black-yellow coalition under Chancellor Merkel solidifies.
The FDP allowed itself to be dealt with to such an extent that it was not even wanted as an opposition in the Bundestag in 2013.
Your courage to venture into new territory with the SPD and the Greens in the federal government must be reflected in a policy that also strengthens core liberal concerns beyond the high government spending on defense and energy security that is now urgently needed to protect freedom.
The partial abolition of the mask requirement does not go far.
And as respectable as Lindner's attempt to prevent another formal exemption from the debt brake is, his compromise to allow further sub-budgets instead is unconvincing.
Debts are debts.
There is no evidence that the traffic light, thanks to the FDP, is putting off one of the expensive or company-restricting social projects of the pre-crisis period.
The next test is the pension reform or compulsory collective bargaining that SPD Labor Minister Heil is planning.
Does the FDP allow even more burdens for younger people and employers?
The Greens and SPD have already countered the FDP in nuclear power.
Lindner should not have given way without a promise to keep all three nuclear power plants connected to the grid in order to dampen energy prices by expanding the CO2-free domestic supply.
The FDP had the better arguments, but didn't dare to stand firm.
Lindner pays more gas aid than necessary and harms competition.
Such profiling opportunities are not given away with impunity.
The next must use the FDP.