FDP election campaign in Thuringia without a federal party – Kemmerich collects money

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Thuringian FDP leader Kemmerich

Photo: Heiko Rebsch/dpa

The Thuringian FDP chairman Thomas Kemmerich hopes to be able to make up for the federal party's lack of funds for his state election campaign through private donations. "I think it's likely that we will be able to double the amount donated so far by the start of the election campaign at the beginning of June," he told SPIEGEL.

By the end of January, the FDP regional association had received 202,385 euros. The appeal for donations was published in mid-September after the federal party had previously decided not to support the Thuringian FDP from a campaign fund.

Kemmerich has been considered an outsider in the FDP since he was elected short-term Prime Minister in Thuringia in February 2020 with the help of the CDU and AfD.

Five years ago, according to Kemmerich, the federal FDP contributed around 300,000 euros to the state election campaign. If the current flow of donations of up to "2,000 to 3,000 euros" per day continues, the Thuringian FDP would have "more than compensated for the missing funds" by the summer, although the costs for election campaigns have also increased noticeably since 2019, says Kemmerich.

The top candidate of the Thuringian FDP once again criticized the federal party's decision not to provide any help. He finds it “remarkable” that “we have to defend the liberal center in such a difficult environment as in Thuringia without help from the federal FDP.” The conflict with the federal party runs deep. His regional association will not invite FDP defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann as Europe's top candidate for election rallies.

In Thuringia, which is governed by a red-red-green minority coalition under Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (Left), the AfD of state and parliamentary group leader Björn Höcke has been in first place in surveys for months with over 30 percent. The AfD regional association has been classified as right-wing extremist by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution since 2021.

The FDP under Kemmerich is currently at three percent in surveys and would therefore no longer be represented in the state parliament. The FDP state leader is aiming for a German coalition alongside the CDU and SPD if his party makes it back into parliament on September 1st.

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