The Federal Association of Digital Publishers and Newspaper Publishers (BDZV) does not come to rest.

At the association's delegates' meeting last Monday, there was dissatisfaction with the President and Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner.

However, there was no open discussion about Döpfner's resignation, which was subliminally demanded by the Funke media group.

Instead, another resignation is now taking place: Thomas Düffert, Chairman of the Management Board of the Madsack Media Group, is resigning from his position as Vice President of the BDZV.

Düffert informed the members of the association on Monday evening that he wanted to remain in the presidency of the BDZV, but he was resigning from his position as deputy president of the BDZV with immediate effect.

This can be understood as a vote of no confidence against the BDZV President Döpfner, especially because Düffert refers to the task force that is supposed to tackle the reform process of the association suggested by the Funke media group, and notes that it is “for the now forthcoming process of personnel and structural renewal" give some theses and suggestions.

"A well-positioned BDZV from top to bottom", writes Düffert, "is ultimately immensely important for all of us in view of the challenges facing our industry".

The list of “important current media policy issues” is long.

It is clear "that we as an industry only have the best chance of making ourselves heard if we work together in a spirit of trust for the benefit of all small and large newspaper publishers in Germany".

That is a pretty clear hint that Düffert no longer sees the basis for a mutual, trusting cooperation.

At the BDZV meeting on Monday, the Funke media group’s criticism of the BDZV President Döpfner, which had been clearly expressed in the days before, because of his behavior in the cause of the “Bild” editor-in-chief Julian Reichelt, who was fired in October last year, was only marginally discussed.

When presenting a discussion paper that envisages closer, professional cooperation between the state associations and the Federal Association of Newspaper Publishers and which in the long term envisages a merger with the associations of magazine and advertising journal publishers, Funke also brought a new start in terms of personnel into play.

In turn, after the meeting there was criticism - also rather covert - from other publishers from the ranks of the BDZV.