The former interior minister of the FDP, Gerhart Baum, has called on his party to put deputy party leader Wolfgang Kubicki in his place. The reason for this is Kubicki’s demand to put the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline into operation.
“I think the statements are irresponsible,” Baum told the editorial network Germany (RND). “Mr. Kubicki stabs German politicians in the back and strains the trust in our western friends. The party should no longer put up with his constant solo efforts.”
His campaign against general corona vaccination harmed the party in the state elections in North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition, Kubicki’s own national association lost the last state election in Schleswig-Holstein. Baum warned: “He should really hold back now. No more gimmicky solo attempts!”
On the other hand, Kubicki received support from the Thuringian FDP state chairman Thomas Kemmerich. “I welcome Wolfgang Kubicki’s food for thought,” he told RND. The requirement to open Nord Stream 2 would not solve “our supply problem” “on its own”.
It is also necessary to extend the service life of the three remaining nuclear power plants in Emsland, Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim 2, to reduce electricity generation from gas and to examine whether the company’s own gas reserves can be used effectively with the help of fracking. Federal Economics and Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck and the Greens blocked this “out of ideological obstinacy”.
Kemmerich was criticized in February 2020 because he had been elected prime minister in Erfurt with votes from the AfD. At the time, Kubicki said: “It’s a great success for Thomas Kemmerich. A candidate from the democratic center won.” Shortly thereafter, Kemmerich resigned.
Kubicki’s call for Nord Stream 2 to be put into operation sparked fierce resentment both inside and outside the party on Friday. The FDP chairman and Federal Minister of Finance Christian Lindner called them “wrong and absurd”. On the other hand, Kubicki received approval from parts of the left and from the AfD.