Germany’s liberals descend into crisis as ‘D-Day’ paper reveals plot to blow up coalition

BERLIN — Germany’s fiscally conservative Free Democratic Party (FDP) is reeling following revelations that its members had meticulously planned the demise of the now-fallen three-party coalition of which they had been a part.

The disclosure of an eight-page powerpoint presentation titled “D-Day Scenarios and Measures” led the FDP’s general secretary, Bijan Djir-Sarai, who was responsible for the party’s strategy and election campaign, to resign from the post on Friday.

In a 50-second statement, Djir-Sarai said he had “no knowledge of the document” but would step down to take “political responsibility to avert damage to [his] credibility and that of the FDP.”

The document shows that FDP politicians planned a detailed, four-phase media strategy for undermining German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s fractious three-party coalition, which ultimately collapsed in early November when Scholz fired his then finance minister, FDP leader Christian Lindner.

The final phase of the FDP plan involved the “start of open field battle” against their coalition partners, the left-leaning Social Democratic Party (SPD) and the Greens, according to the document.

The FDP published the internal document on its website on Thursday after a German media outlet obtained it, sparking embarrassment inside the party. The martial language in the document caused particular consternation.

“The choice of words is not conducive to the cause, and writing with this tonality is incomprehensible. What is needed now is self-criticism and reappraisal,” Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, one of the party’s senior figures and a member of the European Parliament, wrote on X.  

In the months before Germany’s three-partly coalition collapsed, FDP politicians repeatedly threatened to pull the plug over intense disagreements on spending. But ultimately it was Scholz who struck first, firing Lindner for what the chancellor called “petty party-political tactics.” The move paved the way for a snap election on Feb. 23.

Since then, Lindner has denied the FDP was about to pull the plug on the coalition, and blamed Scholz for “calculating” the break-up.

The internal party paper, however, appears to reveal the extent to which FDP leaders were orchestrating the coalition’s demise in an attempt to revive their own political fortunes. The party is now polling at just four percent, lower than the threshold necessary to gain seats in parliament.

The revelations are likely to further hurt the party’s image among voters in the midst of the election campaign, and as further details on the party’s plot surface, more resignations could follow.

Given the embarrassement, the FDP may soon be facing its own D-Day on Feb. 23.