A principled suicide

The FDP’s final act?

Yesterday, the government in North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) collapsed; a minority SPD-Green government failed to pass the budget for the coming year. While the FDP opposed the it in theory – based on continued deficit spending – the expectation was that they would merely abstain. To the surprise of most observers, they voted against and forced new elections.

You see, in NRW – as well as the rest of the country – the FDP’s polling numbers don’t look good. Not good at all. They’re polling 2-3%, under the level to even be represented in the state parliament. It was not in the FDP’s interest to bring down the government: they risk political annihilation.

If they fail to have representation in Germany’s most populous state, there will be huge implications on a national level. The CDU have already been making policy overtures to the Greens – driven both by the poll numbers and increasingly erratic behaviour of the FDP leadership.

Unless something is done to change their fortunes, this could be the beginning of a real electoral death spiral.

Classical liberalism is on life support in Germany – the prognosis does not look good.