Overview
- A Civey poll finds 42% of Germans view Wolfgang Kubicki’s bid positively and 29% negatively.
- The same survey shows 58% of FDP supporters back his run, while many in the wider public say they want a new face at the top.
- Kubicki, 74, will face North Rhine–Westphalia party leader Henning Höne in a leadership vote at the FDP’s end‑May conference in Berlin.
- Reporting in Die Tageszeitung says Kubicki favors a high‑visibility, provocative style that could nudge the party toward a moderate right‑populist lane, whereas Höne argues for market‑friendly policy and civil rights.
- The stakes are high as the FDP lost its Bundestag seats, crashed to 4.4% in Baden‑Württemberg and 2.1% in Rhineland‑Palatinate, and saw many former voters shift to the CDU and the AfD while rivals court its base.