Germany news: Most expect AfD state premier after elections
05/31/2026 May 31, 2026 FDP elects veteran right-winger Kubicki as new leader – but divisions remain Kubicki won nearly 60% of the vote Image: Michael
05/31/2026 May 31, 2026 FDP elects veteran right-winger Kubicki as new leader – but divisions remain Kubicki won nearly 60% of the vote Image: Michael Kappeler/dpa/picture alliance Germany's Free Democratic Party (FDP) has elected a new chairman: Wolfgang Kubicki, a 74-year-old veteran from the right of the economically liberal, pro-business party. Kubicki was expected to be elected unopposed at Saturday's party conference, but he faced a surprise, last-minute challenge from Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, a veteran member of the European Parliament and defense hawk who represents the more socially liberal wing of the party. Kubicki emerged victorious with 59.3% of the votes but the fact that Strack-Zimmermann won 39% showed that the party remains divided – and those divisions played out in public this weekend as the two candidates took aim at each other via the tabloid media.
"Wolfgang knows now that it's 60-40," Strack-Zimmermann told BILD, warning Kubicki against taking the party too far to the right. "We will be watching very closely where the party is headed." Kubicki hit back, telling the same newspaper: "Marie-Agnes, you only got 40% so you know exactly what the score is. If you want to lead the FDP into irrelevance, then keep going." At the conference, Kubicki called on his party to be aggressive on divisive issues and lamented that the "space for debate" in German politics was getting smaller. "Real problems are automatically pigeon-holed as right wing," he said, saying that issues such as immigration, climate and freedom of expression shouldn't be left to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
In a speech to delegates, he specifically mentioned migration policy, criticizing "uncontrolled immigration" and the creation of "parallel societies," and stated that economic growth should take priority over climate protection. What is the FDP's stance on the AfD? Kubicki is an opponent of the so-called "Brandmauer" (firewall) strategy in which democratic German parties refuse to form coalitions with the AfD, and hasn't ruled out forming political majorities with the party. Parts of the AfD have been labelled "extreme right" by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesverfassungschutz or BfV). Strack-Zimmermann argued that Kubicki's position on the firewall might earn him "applause and a few pats on the back from reactionaries in the pub" but wouldn't win back votes from the AfD.
The FDP formed part of the German government between December 2021 and November 2024 as the junior partner in a coalition with former chancellor Olaf Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) and the Green Party. After quitting the coalition over policy differences and failing to reach the minimum 5% required to enter parliament in the 2025 federal election, former leader Christian Lindner stepped down. The party has since been in the wilderness.
The BriefWire