The secretary general of the FDP, Bijan Djir-Sarai, resigned from his post following the “D-Day Paper” affair. He said he “unknowingly” provided false information on the internal document.
The so-called “D-Day Paper”, a document revealing the FDP’s apparent plans to undermine the three-party coalition of which it was a part, has put the party leadership under great pressure. On Friday afternoon, General Secretary Djir-Sarai resigned, followed shortly after by party chairman Carsten Reymann.
The document, titled “D-Day Scenarios and Measures” and released on Thursday, contained a detailed plan on the “start of the open field battle” as part of the party’s communications plan. The eight-page document was published on the FDP website and sets out the thoughts of party strategists on how and when the “ideal time” would come to leave the “traffic light” coalition of which it was part with the Socialist Party. Democrat of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SDP) and the Greens.
These latest revelations could generate some sympathy for Chancellor Scholz, who has been heavily criticized for the dismissal of FDP politician and Finance Minister Christian Lindner, which caused the collapse of the coalition in early November. The recently published document effectively suggests that the FDP was considering dissolving the coalition itself. This point of view is shared by 40% of Germans who largely blame the party for the fall of the government – according to a survey conducted in early November by Infratest Dimap on behalf of the public channel ARD. At the time, only 19% of those surveyed blamed the SDP, and those numbers are now likely to fall even further.
Avoid damage from above
The secretary general of the FDP, Bijan Djir-Sarai, explained during a brief press conference that he would accept the consequences of the “strategic document”, even if he was not aware of it. “I unknowingly provided false information on an internal document. This was not my intention, as I myself had no knowledge of this document. Neither its creation nor its contents. I I apologize. The Secretary General is responsible for such a process. By resigning, he assumed political responsibility “to avoid damaging my credibility and that of the FDP”.
Djir-Sarai was referring to one of his statements on November 18, when the first media reported that such a newspaper was circulating within the FDP. “That’s not true,” he said at the time. “This term (D-Day) was not used.”
The Young Liberals, the independent youth wing of the FDP, had already requested his resignation: “In order to avoid further damage to the party, I asked Bijan Djir-Sarai to resign from his post,” declared the federal president Franziska Brandmann. “The newspaper made public yesterday is unworthy of a liberal party,” underlined Brandmann.
Party figures such as Marie-Agnès Strack-Zimmermann have also been criticized. Addressing exit scenarios was the right thing to do, the FDP politician said on X. However, the newspaper’s wording “would not have served the cause.”
Shortly after Djir-Sarai’s resignation, party chairman Carsten Reymann also resigned from his position: “I am doing this because I want to facilitate a reorganization of party personnel,” he said. “The FDP is facing important federal elections, which constitute a crucial election for the future direction of Germany. The FDP must embark on this election campaign with full vigor and without personal debates,” Reymann added.
Reymann also revealed himself to be the author of the strategic document: “The document is a working document that the party president first drafted on October 24, 2024 at 3:38 p.m.,” he wrote in a statement .
“Open battle” against the coalition
The FDP document presents a “basic narrative” that should be disseminated in the event of a withdrawal. He stressed that a “directional decision” was needed. The FDP considered the deep conflict between the coalition parties, especially between two other partners and the FDP itself, to be so serious that the federal government would be endangered by this situation. Only new elections could break the deadlock, according to FDP members, which is why they consider the dissolution of the coalition to be justified.
It is said that the FDP leadership knew nothing about it, even though Reymann is a close confidant of the deposed Lindner. In his statement, Reymann clarified: “This technical document was not the subject of a political consultation between elected officials and members of the government, but of purely internal preparation in the event that the FDP leaves the traffic light coalition ‘.”
Asked whether the FDP had made a mistake, Lindner told the Rheinische Post newspaper on Friday: “No, because we have always been and are concerned about the political change that this country needs. The ‘traffic light ‘ can no longer bear fruit.
According to Lindner, it was a “document in progress” written by employees and made public. “Beyond the details, however, I would like to mention that it is professional for staff to prepare contingency plans. The Chancellor would also have three different speeches drawn up.”
Former coalition partner and SPD chairman Lars Klingenbeil accused the FDP of waging war against a government to which he himself belongs. He said it was good that citizens now knew how the coalition was broken and could form their own judgment.
On November 6, the “traffic light” coalition collapsed when Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed its Finance Minister and FDP politician Christian Lindner. New elections are now scheduled for February 23. Until then, the FDP, weakened by several resignations, must take up the challenge of reorganizing itself.
