Traffic light break: Volker Wissing remains a minister and leaves the FDP

Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing resigns FDP and remains in the traffic light government. At the same time, he wanted to remain true to himself and not cause any damage to the FDP, he said at a press conference.

After the dismissal of Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) asked him to continue to lead the Federal Ministry of Transport, said Wissing. He confirmed this. However, he did not want to be a “burden for my party”. That’s why he informed FDP leader Lindner that he was leaving the party. “I am not distancing myself from the basic values ​​of my party,” said Wissing. He also doesn’t want to join another party.

Criticism of the dispute in the traffic light coalition

Wissing described the step as a “personal decision of mine that corresponds to my idea of ​​taking on responsibility.” Wissing pointed out that he had repeatedly made his position on the continuation of the traffic light coalition clear in recent weeks. Last week Wissing wrote a guest article for the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung in favor of the FDP remaining in the traffic light coalition. In the same week, Lindner presented his demands for an economic turnaround, which ultimately led to Scholz’s dismissal of the Federal Finance Minister.

Wissing indirectly criticized Lindner’s behavior in the coalition. He has ten years of experience in a traffic light coalition, said Wissing, referring to his time as a minister in Rhineland-Palatinate. Regarding the traffic lights in the federal government, he “did not agree with many things,” “especially the way in which controversial positions were disputed instead of building bridges.” Different positions are needed, but also a willingness to compromise. “For me, that’s the meaning of politics.”