The big parties made it clear early on where the journey for their top candidates should go. The CDU and CSU want to see Armin Laschet in the Chancellery, the Social Democrats their Olaf Scholz and the Green Annalena Baerbock. Only the FDP has other plans. She sends her party leader into the running as a candidate for the post of Federal Minister of Finance. Christian Lindner was not brought into this position by a party congress or by the FDP members. In a sense, he switched himself in: At first hesitantly in newspaper talks, then more and more clearly in his election campaign appearances, Lindner announced his intention to take over the finance ministry if the FDP were involved in government. At first he called it "an offer". But since he began his summer tour of the coast and in the mountains in July,became a claim from it. It is a tactical move that follows many considerations.
Johannes Leithäuser
Political correspondent in Berlin.
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The move is inevitably reminiscent of the higher ambitions that Lindner's predecessor Guido Westerwelle once harbored.
In the federal election campaign in 2002, he formally crowned himself with the title of candidate for chancellor.
That happened at the time by acclamation at a federal party congress, the proclamation then took over the FDP honorary chairman Hans-Dietrich Genscher.
Nevertheless, it was not a serious election campaign maneuver, even if it was accompanied by the full-bodied target of “18 percent”.
On the evening of the election, the FDP had to be satisfied with 7.4 percent.
Lindner now indirectly revives Westerwelle's loud ambitions, but he chooses a more modest goal.
This time there was no doubt about the will to participate
Today's FDP chairman has to cope with a party scene that is becoming more and more colorful and confusing. In addition to the three groups that claim leadership in a future government with their candidates for chancellor, there are three other parties that can count on seats in the next Bundestag. However, the FDP is - unlike the AfD and Die Linke - the only one of them that leaves no doubt about their will to participate in governing in the future. In addition, the party's candidacy has the effect of putting the dramatic end of the exploratory talks in November 2017 into perspective.
At that time, after long negotiations, the FDP withdrew from exploratory talks with the Union parties. “Better not to rule than to rule badly” was Lindner's exit formula on that surprise evening. Not only the other participants, but also many supporters of the FDP resented him. At that time, the Free Democrats had been negotiating in many exploratory rounds for more than a month before they came to the conclusion that the result was not enough for them. Now it should work the other way around. Even before the negotiations, even before the election results, the FDP wants to at least clarify for itself the conditions under which it would like to participate in the next federal government.