(de-news.net) – Wolfgang Kubicki remains as the only contender for chairman of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) before its convention after Henning Höne has withdrawn from the leadership contest. Following a string of electoral defeats and the party’s withdrawal from the Bundestag, both politicians portrayed their proposed leadership structure as a short-term attempt to stabilize and restructure the FDP.
Around two weeks before the federal party convention of the FDP, Henning Höne, chairman of the party’s North Rhine-Westphalia branch, withdrew from the race for the federal leadership, leaving deputy chairman Wolfgang Kubicki as the sole remaining candidate for the chairmanship. According to a party spokesperson, Höne now intends to seek election as first deputy federal chairman instead. Both politicians described the arrangement as a transitional one-year leadership model intended to consolidate organizational strength and coordinate the party’s political resources more effectively following a series of internal consultations conducted in recent days.
The FDP has remained in a prolonged period of political instability since its loss of Bundestag representation in the aftermath of the 2025 federal election. Earlier this year, former party chairman Christian Dürr stepped down after the party suffered additional major setbacks in state elections in Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg, developments that further intensified concerns regarding the FDP’s national political viability. During a recent campaign appearance, Kubicki argued that the party’s future survival depended on its ability to restore electoral competitiveness rapidly and to rebuild public confidence among voters within a relatively limited period of time. He suggested that the FDP faced a narrow political window in which it could reverse its decline and regain relevance within the German political landscape.
Höne’s withdrawal from the leadership contest effectively enabled Kubicki to pursue the federal chairmanship uncontested at the party convention scheduled for late May. Media reports indicated that Höne had stressed the importance of quickly uniting all segments of the liberal political camp, particularly against the backdrop of the current difficulties confronting the Federal Government. Both politicians emphasized that the decision had been jointly developed over several days and framed the move as a coordinated effort to strengthen internal cohesion and concentrate party influence within a more unified leadership structure.
Unity emphasized over internal competition
Kubicki also indicated that Höne would assume a prominent position within the future leadership team, drawing comparisons to his own close political cooperation with former FDP chairman Christian Lindner in the years following 2013. He argued that Höne possessed particular strategic importance because of his dual role as leader of the FDP’s largest regional association and as chairman of a parliamentary group in one of the relatively few state legislatures where the party still maintains representation. Like Kubicki, Höne currently serves as one of the party’s deputy federal chairmen, further reinforcing his standing within the organization’s senior leadership ranks.
Although Höne rejected suggestions that his withdrawal had resulted from inadequate support within the party, he acknowledged that the broader political circumstances required constant reassessment and strategic flexibility. He stated that party members had increasingly encouraged both candidates to reach a compromise arrangement capable of integrating them into a common leadership framework rather than prolonging an internal contest. In previous weeks, Kubicki had already suggested that a defeat in the race for the chairmanship could potentially lead him to withdraw entirely from the party leadership.
The two politicians also expressed confidence that their differing political approaches and leadership styles would remain compatible within a shared organizational structure. Höne argued that voters were not seeking ideological uniformity within the FDP, but instead expected a party with a clearly defined direction that could nevertheless be represented by different personalities, political temperaments, and methods of communication. Under the division of responsibilities outlined by Höne, Kubicki would primarily oversee federal political affairs in Berlin, while Höne would concentrate largely on preparations for the North Rhine-Westphalia state election scheduled for next spring, a contest widely regarded as strategically important for the FDP’s regional recovery efforts.
Looking ahead to the next election of the FDP’s federal executive board, scheduled for next year, Kubicki declined to state definitively whether he intended to seek another term as party chairman. He indicated only that any decision regarding a future candidacy would be made at an appropriate later stage, leaving open the possibility of another transition within the party leadership once the proposed one-year arrangement concludes.
Audio: TTSFree
