1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
Middle EastUS election Ukraine
FDP logo
Image: picture-alliance/Revierfoto/dpaImage: picture-alliance/Revierfoto/dpa

FDP (Free Democratic Party)

Founded in 1948, the neoliberal Free Democrats frequently served as the junior coalition partner in German governments led by the CDU and the SPD.

Skip next section All Content on this topic

All Content on this topic

Left to right: Robert Habeck, Olaf Scholz, Christian Lindner

German government descends into crisis mode

Chancellor Olaf Scholz is trying to hold his government together, but his partners seem unable to stop infighting.
PoliticsNovember 4, 2024
An outside view of the chancellor's office, with the heads of Finance Minister Christian Lindner (L) and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) just visible

Why Germany's coalition government is under threat

The FDP finance minister has triggered a dispute that observers say is backing his coalition partners into a corner.
PoliticsNovember 4, 202401:16 min
DW Sendung "To the point" | Totale

Is the German economy going down the drain?

Germany’s ecomomy keeps shrinking – is the Scholz government part of the problem?
PoliticsOctober 17, 202426:04 min
Demonstrators against the far-right in Erfurt on August 25. 2024

Germans divided over far-right AfD ban

Two-thirds of German voters polled in October see the rise of the AfD as a threat to democracy and the rule of law.
PoliticsOctober 11, 2024
Kevin Kühnert autograph cards

Germany: Surprise SPD resignation puts pressure on party

SPD General Secretary Kevin Kühnert is giving up all political offices. This comes at an inopportune time for the party.
PoliticsOctober 8, 2024
Olaf Scholz (right), Robert Habeck (middle), and Christian Lindner (left) sitting in Germany's parliament

Can the German government survive its 'ultimatum autumn'?

Whatever the issue, the German government coalition is at odds. But now coalition partner FDP has issued an ultimatum.
PoliticsSeptember 30, 2024
Brandenburg state Premier Dietmar Woidke surveying flood defenses on the Oder River in Frankfurt an der Oder in eastern Germany.

Brandenburg election: Campaigns and a concert on eve of vote

Politicians made last-ditch pitches in Brandenburg before Sunday's state election, with the far-right AfD a frontrunner.
PoliticsSeptember 21, 2024
Sign and two bulldozers at construction site in Magdeburg, Germany

Germany: Intel delays construction of Magdeburg factory

US chipmaker Intel has delayed a German factory construction project by two years amid cost-saving measures.
BusinessSeptember 17, 2024
A person leafs through a stack of ballot papers on a table

Germany's political landscape is more fractured than ever

The successes of the AfD and BSW in the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia has changed the German party system.
PoliticsSeptember 13, 2024
German Labor Minister Hubertus Heil

Germany: Labor minister calls for higher minimum wage

Hubertus Heil said he wants to raise the federal minimum wage to €15 with trade unions welcoming the call.
SocietySeptember 9, 2024
Olaf Scholz and Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Berlin

Germany wants to limit aid to Ukraine

As of 2026, the German government wants to use sources other than the federal budget to support Ukraine.
PoliticsAugust 19, 2024
Euro notes and coins

German government at loggerheads over budget

Finance Minister Christian Lindner fears that part of the draft 2025 budget is unconstitutional.
PoliticsAugust 6, 2024
Finance Minister Lindner, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck

Germany's coalition agrees on a budget for 2025

Germany's Cabinet has agreed on a draft budget for 2025, including policies to counter recent weak growth.
PoliticsJuly 17, 2024
(L to R) German Finance Minister Christian Lindner, German Economy Minister Robert Habeck and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz seen during a joint press conference

German Cabinet approves budget for 2025

The three governing parties had tensely negotiated the budget for weeks. DW looks at the challenges that remain.
PoliticsJuly 17, 202401:57 min
A view of (L to R) Christian Lindner, Robert Habeck and Olaf Scholz during their joint press conference

German coalition reaches 2025 budget deal

The agreement ends weeks of difficult negotiations over the finances of Europe's largest economy.
PoliticsJuly 5, 202401:54 min
Christian Lindner, Olaf Scholz and Robert Habeck

Germany: Families gain more support in draft 2025 budget

A draft budget presented by leaders from Germany's ruling coalition includes higher benefits for families.
PoliticsJuly 5, 2024
Regional trains in Germany

Germany: Lindner puts price of 49-euro ticket up for debate

Germany's finance minister says the ticket may need to be more expensive if rail modernization plans are to go ahead.
Cars and TransportationJune 29, 2024
DW Director General Peter Limbourg (left) stands next to Yulia Navalnaya (center left) as German Finance Minister Christian Lindner (R) and Director of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, Ivan Zhdanov (center right), look on

Yulia Navalnaya receives DW's Freedom of Speech Award

Speaking at a ceremony in Berlin, Alexei Navalny's widow said the fight against President Vladimir Putin would go on.
PoliticsJune 5, 202402:36 min
Yulia Navalnaya, holding the award, gestures to German Finance Minister Christian Lindner and DW Director General Peter Limbourg. Berlin, June 5, 2024.

Yulia Navalnaya: Free speech is our 'most important weapon'

Although Vladimir Putin killed her husband, Yulia Navalnaya said Russia's leader "didn't silence him and his ideas."
PoliticsJune 5, 2024
Berlin | Beginn 75. Ordentlicher Bundesparteitag der FDP

Germany faces challenge as 2025 tax forecast sinks

Finance Minister Christian Lindner said it was clear that the public sector would have to tighten its belt.
PoliticsMay 16, 2024
Billboards showing CDU and SPD election posters

EU election: Immigration top concern in Germany

Polls for the European Parliament elections will close on June 9. German voters are showing little interest.
PoliticsMay 3, 2024
A view of the offices of the Russian Justice Ministry behind a metal gate

Russia declares German foundation 'undesirable'

The free-market think-tank said it was a sign of Russia's "threat to civil and human rights."
PoliticsApril 18, 2024
Finance Minister Christian Lindner, Economy Minister Robert Habeck, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz (left to right)

Germany: What's holding Olaf Scholz's coalition together?

The German government coalition parties are arguing about everything, including Ukraine, but above all about money.
PoliticsApril 3, 2024
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann speaks into a DW microphone

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann (FDP) on her EU ambitions

The German MP told DW that she won't run away from problems at home and wants to continue standing by Ukraine.
PoliticsMarch 20, 202403:29 min
Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann among Bundeswehr soldiers returning from Mali in 2023

German defense hawk sets sights on EU job

As chair of the defense committee, Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann is one of Germany's most vocal supporters of Ukraine.
PoliticsMarch 12, 2024
A palm oil farmer loads palm oil seeds onto a truck in Kampar, Riau province, Malaysia

EU supply chain law postponed amid German FDP opposition

The German business-focused FDP said an EU supply chain law would burden companies with cumbersome bureaucracy.
BusinessFebruary 9, 2024
Germany's Bundestag holds session amid vote on 2024 budget

German Bundestag approves controversial diesel subsidy cuts

The measure is part of the German government financial plans for 2024.
PoliticsFebruary 2, 2024
Olaf Scholz (r) and Robert Habeck listening to the debate on the 2024 budget

Budget woes: What can Germany still afford?

The controversial budget for 2024 is being debated in parliament this week.
PoliticsJanuary 30, 2024
woman gazing at a wall with historic election posters exhibited in the Museum of German History in Bonn

How to found a political party in Germany

In theory, anyone in Germany can found a party, even foreigners. However, there are certain requirements.
PoliticsJanuary 27, 2024
Berlin Bauernprotest Traktoren

German farmers vow to fight on after week of protest

In Germany, nationwide protests by farmers have ended with thousands of agriculture workers rallying in Berlin.
BusinessJanuary 15, 202402:27 min
Farmers protests in Berlin, with many people and tractors in the street. Berlin's Brandenburg Gate is visible in the Background

Germany in protest mode: From farmers to train drivers

The country's been rocked by street demonstrations and strikes as frustration mounts. What is happening in Germany?
SocietyJanuary 14, 2024
silhouette of a man kneeling, pulling a hose with fire and burned out cars in the background after a Russian missile attack in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv

War, inflation, flooding: Germans' negative outlook on 2024

German voters are pessimistic about the country's prospects for the new year, and have little faith in their government.
SocietyJanuary 5, 2024
left to right: The FDP's Christian Lindner, the Green Party's Robert Habeck and the SPD's Chancellor Olaf Scholz sitting in the Bundestag during a debate

Will Germany's lackluster coalition government survive?

The members of the center-left coalition government are now more divided than they are united.
PoliticsJanuary 3, 2024
Olaf Scholz frowning

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hits record low in new polling

Latest polling shows how turned off voters are by the center-left Social Democrats leading the governing coalition.
PoliticsDecember 8, 2023
Different euro notes lie scattered on a table

Germany grapples with its 'debt brake'

The German government's choice: Declare an emergency and borrow more money, or cut spending until something breaks?
PoliticsNovember 25, 2023
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Economy Minister Robert Habeck sit side by side, looking unhappy

Germany's budget woes: A threat to the government?

After a bombshell high court ruling, Finance Minister Christian Lindner has imposed a freeze on the federal budget.
PoliticsNovember 21, 2023
Finance Minister Christian Lindner, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and German Minister of Economics and Climate Protection Robert Habeck

Germany: Minister casts doubt on 2030 coal exit

The German finance minister has questioned the country's ability to phase out coal as an energy source by 2030.
PoliticsNovember 1, 2023
A Black person holding Euro notes with a Sparkasse leaflet in the background

German government mulls limiting migrant remittances

Restricting remittances that migrants send back home would risk increasing poverty in poorer countries, experts warn.
SocietyOctober 25, 2023
Police officer holding up a stop sign as a small van approaches on the border from Poland

Germany: Growing dissatisfaction with migration policy

A majority of Germans want fewer refugees accepted into the country. That is according to the latest Deutschlandtrend.
PoliticsSeptember 29, 2023
Carsten Linnemann presenting the CDU's new colors and logo

Germany's political color code

A party's signature color is to represent its orientation and ideology. Now the center-right CDU has gone for a revamp.
PoliticsSeptember 26, 20238 images
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner talks with Defense Minister Boris Pistorius during the weekly cabinet meeting of the German government.

German defense and finance ministers test positive for COVID

The upcoming appointments for Boris Pistorius and Christian Lindner have been canceled.
PoliticsSeptember 18, 2023
Germany's Finance Minister Christian Lindner in a DW interview

'Our economy has the potential for a rapid turnaround'

Germany's Finance Minister Christian Lindner speaks to DW's Bernd Riegert.
BusinessSeptember 15, 202305:05 min
Finance Minister Christian Lindner, Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Economy Minister Robert Habeck and (second row L-R) Minister for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Lisa Paus, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and Minister for Transport and Digital Affairs Volker Wissing and other cabinet members pose for a group photo at Meseberg Palace on August 30, 2023

German government's performance gets good marks

Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his government have been plummeting in opinion polls. But now there is praise.
PoliticsSeptember 12, 2023
Olaf Scholz (right) meets Ukrainian President Volodomyr Zelenskyy

How war in Ukraine impacted Germany's budget

Chancellor Scholz proclaimed a "turning point" when Russia invaded Ukraine. Its impact is now being felt in the budget.
PoliticsSeptember 9, 2023
Christian Lindner speaking to the Bundestag

German government tightens belt in new budget

Finance Minister Christian Lindner is determined to reduce debt, whatever the cost.
PoliticsSeptember 5, 2023
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz

Scholz says nuclear energy issue 'a dead horse' for Germany

The German chancellor insisted that "nuclear energy is over" after the FDP called for halting the dismantling of plants.
PoliticsSeptember 2, 2023
Finance Minister Christian Lindner (left), Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Economy and Climate Minister Robert Habeck attend a press conference

German government pledges to cut taxes, bureaucracy

The leaders of Germany's ruling coalition sought to project unity during a two-day retreat at a palace outside Berlin.
PoliticsAugust 30, 2023
Various children's toys on a table, with some euro banknotes and an application form for child allowance in Germany also on the same table.

German government reaches child allowance compromise

The coalition government has broken its latest policy deadlock, this time over a new child allowance payment plan.
PoliticsAugust 28, 2023
People waiting for their turn in the citizens' office

Germans' trust in state institutions hits new low

Faith in state institutions has hit a low point, according to a major survey. And everyone's blaming bureaucracy.
SocietyAugust 18, 2023
Germany's Finance Minister Christian Lindner speaking to reporters in Kyiv

Germany's finance minister pays surprise visit to Ukraine

Christian Lindner arrived in Kyiv with a pledge of Berlin's continued support for the fight against Russia's invasion.
ConflictsAugust 14, 202302:08 min