Politics FDP Secretary General resigns in Germany

The German FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai is drawing the consequences of the leaking of a Liberal strategy paper on the "traffic light" exit and is resigning. The 48-year-old FDP politician made the announcement in Berlin.

"I unknowingly provided false information about an internal document. This was not my intention, as I had no knowledge of this paper myself," said Djir-Sarai. "I apologize for that." The Secretary General is responsible for such a process - "I therefore accept political responsibility in order to prevent damage to my credibility and that of the FDP."

The confidant of FDP leader Christian Lindner is reacting to his party's so-called "D-Day" paper, which had become public the day before. It contains a detailed scenario for the FDP's exit from the coalition with the SPD and Greens.

It states, for example, that the "ideal time" for an "announced exit" from the coalition could be in the middle of the 45th calendar week between November 4 and 10. On November 6, the coalition, which had been in crisis for a long time, actually broke down when Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) dismissed Lindner as Finance Minister at a meeting of the coalition committee.

On 18 November, Djir-Sarai emphasized with regard to media reports at the time about the "D-Day" formulation: "That's not true. This term was not used." He obviously had this contradiction in mind when he announced his resignation.

Demand for resignation

Immediately before Djir-Sarai's statement, Franziska Brandmann, Chairwoman of the Young Liberals, called for the resignation of the FDP Secretary General. "As Secretary General, Bijan Djir-Sarai bears political responsibility for the content and direction of the party. In order to prevent further damage to the party, I have called on Bijan Djir-Sarai as JuLi Federal Chairwoman to resign from his office," Brandmann wrote on the short message service X.

She explained that the paper that had become public the day before was "unworthy of a liberal party". It was not only the public who had to get the impression that they had been deceived for weeks - but also their own party. "That also applies to me - I was also deceived. I know that the feeling I have as a result is shared by many members of the Free Democrats," said Brandmann.

Criticism of the wording of the strategy paper

The paper was not only criticized for its content, but also for its choice of words. The term "D-Day", which was historically coined during the Second World War, appears several times in the document - as a synonym for the possible time to exit the traffic lights.

The English term "D-Day" can be translated as "Day X" - or also mean "Decision Day". The phrase is best known in connection with the Allied landings in Normandy to liberate Europe from National Socialism. D-Day on June 6, 1944 marked the beginning of this process, but it also stands for inhumane bloodshed, tens of thousands of dead and wounded.

Djir-Sarai has been Secretary General for a good two years

Djir-Sarai had been Secretary General of the FDP since April 2022. He was born in Tehran in 1976 and came to Germany at a young age, where he graduated from high school and studied business administration. He was first elected to the Bundestag in 2009. He has been a member of parliament again since 2017.

After the 2021 federal elections, the Social Democrats, Greens and Liberals formed an alliance that had not previously existed in this form at federal level. The name "Ampel" comes from the party colors red (SPD), yellow (FDP) and green.

SDA