(de-news.net) – FDP leader Christian Lindner has announced his withdrawal from active politics following his party’s poor performance in the federal elections. He posted on the online platform X, stating, “Now I am stepping down from active politics.” Current projections place the FDP significantly below the five percent threshold, likely excluding them from the next Bundestag. This would mark the first time since the 2013 election that the FDP fails to enter the Bundestag, narrowly missing the threshold back then as well.

On election night, Lindner remarked that the party took substantial political risks last autumn for the country’s benefit, despite paying a high price. He believes the decision was ultimately correct for Germany.

Lindner, who had led the FDP since December 2013, shortly after the party’s exit from the Bundestag, expressed gratitude for “almost 25 intense, challenging years of shaping and debating.” Under his leadership, the party returned to the Bundestag in 2017 with 10.7% of the vote and improved to 11.5% in the 2021 election. However, the current projections as of Sunday evening place the FDP at 4.4 to 4.5%, leaving little chance of surpassing the five percent hurdle.