Editing Free Democratic Party (Germany) (section)

== History ==
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=== Predecessors ===
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The history of [[liberalism in Germany|liberal parties in Germany]] dates back to 1861, when the [[German Progress Party]] (DFP) was founded, being the first political party in the modern sense in Germany. From the establishment of the [[National Liberal Party (Germany)|National Liberal Party]] in 1867 until the demise of the [[Weimar Republic]] in 1933, the liberal-democratic camp was divided into a [[National liberalism|national-liberal]] and a [[left-liberal]] line of tradition. After 1918, the national-liberal strain was represented by the [[German People's Party]] (DVP), the left-liberal one by the [[German Democratic Party]] (DDP, which merged into the [[German State Party]] in 1930). Both parties played an important role in government during the Weimar Republic era, but successively lost votes during the rise of the [[Nazi Party]] beginning in the late-1920s. After the [[Nazi seizure of power]], both liberal parties agreed to the [[Enabling Act of 1933]] and subsequently dissolved themselves. During the 12 years of Hitler's rule, some former liberals collaborated with the Nazis (e.g. economy minister [[Hjalmar Schacht]]), while others resisted actively against Nazism, with some Liberal leaning members and former members of the military joining up with [[Henning von Tresckow]] (e.g. the [[Solf Circle]]).

Soon after World War II, the Soviet Union pushed for the creation of licensed [[anti-fascist]] parties in [[Soviet occupation zone|its occupation zone]] in East Germany. In July 1945, former DDP politicians [[Wilhelm Külz]], [[Eugen Schiffer]], and [[Waldemar Koch]] called for the establishment of a pan-German liberal party. Their [[Liberal Democratic Party of Germany|Liberal-Democratic Party]] (LDP) was soon licensed by the [[Soviet Military Administration in Germany]], under the condition that the new party joined the pro-Soviet [[Democratic Bloc (East Germany)|Democratic Bloc]].

In September 1945, citizens in [[Hamburg]]—including the anti-Nazi resistance circle Association Free Hamburg—established the ''Party of Free Democrats'' (PFD) as a [[bourgeois]] left-wing party and the first liberal Party in the Western occupation zones. The German Democratic Party was revived in some states of the Western occupation zones (in the Southwestern states of [[Württemberg-Baden]] and [[Württemberg-Hohenzollern]] under the name of [[Democratic People's Party (Germany)|Democratic People's Party]]).

Many former members of DDP and DVP however agreed to finally overcome the traditional split of German liberalism into a national-liberal and a left-liberal branch, aiming for the creation of a united liberal party.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Alf |last=Mintzel |title=Besatzungspolitik und Entwicklung der bürgerlichen Parteien in den Westzonen (1945–1949) |editor-first=Dietrich |editor-last=Staritz |publisher=Leske + Budrich |year=1976 |page=79}}</ref> In October 1945 a liberal coalition party was founded in the state of [[Bremen]] under the name of Bremen Democratic People's Party. In January 1946, liberal state parties of the [[British occupation zone]] merged into the Free Democratic Party of the British Zone (FDP). A similar state party in [[Hesse]], called the Liberal Democratic Party, was licensed by the [[Office of Military Government, United States|U.S. military government]] in January 1946. In the state of Bavaria, a Free Democratic Party was founded in May 1946.

In the first post-war state elections in 1946, liberal parties performed well in Württemberg-Baden (16.8%), Bremen (18.3%), Hamburg (18.2%) and Greater Berlin (still undivided; 9.3%). The LDP was especially strong in the October 1946 state elections of the Soviet zone—the last free parliamentary election in East Germany—obtaining an average of 24.6% (highest in Saxony-Anhalt, 29.9%, and Thuringia, 28.5%), thwarting an absolute majority of the [[Socialist Unity Party of Germany]] (SED) that was favoured by the Soviet occupation power. This disappointment to the Communists led to a change of electoral laws in the Soviet zone, cutting the autonomy of non-socialist parties including the LDP and forcing it to join the SED-dominated [[National Front (East Germany)|National Front]], making it a dependent [[bloc party]].

The [[Democratic Party of Germany]] (DPD) was established in [[Rothenburg ob der Tauber]] on 17 March 1947 as a pan-German party of liberals from all four occupation zones. Its leaders were [[Theodor Heuss]] (representing the DVP of Württemberg-Baden in the American zone) and [[Wilhelm Külz]] (representing the LDP of the Soviet zone). However, the project failed in January 1948 as a result of disputes over Külz's pro-Soviet direction.

=== Founding of the party ===
[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1983-098-20a, Heuss.jpg|thumb|upright|Theodor Heuss, first chairman of the FDP and first President of West Germany]]

The Free Democratic Party was established on 11–12 December 1948 in [[Heppenheim]], in [[Hesse]], as an association of all 13 liberal state parties in the three Western zones of occupation.<ref group="Note">These regionally organised liberal parties were the ''Bremian Democratic People's Party'' (BDV) in the [[Bremen (state)|state of Bremen]], the ''Democratic Party of Southern and Middle Baden'' (DemP) in the [[South Baden|State of South Baden]], the ''Democratic Party'' (DP) in the [[Rhineland-Palatinate|State of Rhineland-Palatinate]], the [[Democratic People's Party (Germany)|Democratic People's Party of Northern Württemberg-Northern Baden]] (DVP) in the [[Württemberg-Baden|State of Württemberg-Baden]], the [[Democratic People's Party (Germany)|Democratic People's Party of Southern Württemberg-Hohenzollern]] (DVP) in the [[Württemberg-Hohenzollern|State of Württemberg-Hohenzollern]], the united ''Free Democratic Party'' (F.D.P.) of the British zone of occupation (consisting of five state associations), the ''Free Democratic Party'' (F.D.P.) in the [[Free State of Bavaria]], the ''Liberal Democratic Party'' (LDP) in the [[State of Hesse]], and the ''Liberal Democratic Party'' (LDP) of [[West Berlin]]. Cf. Almut Leh and Alexander von Plato, ''Ein unglaublicher Frühling: erfahrene Geschichte im Nachkriegsdeutschland 1945–1948'', Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung (ed.), Bonn: Bundeszentrale für Politische Bildung, 1997, p. 77. {{ISBN|3-89331-298-6}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url= http://www.freiheit.org/files/288/1948_Heppenheimer_Proklamation.pdf|title= Heppenheimer Proklamation der Freien Demokratischen Partei|trans-title= Heppenheim Proclamation of the Free Democratic Party|date= 12 December 1948|access-date= 12 November 2013|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150903224113/http://www.freiheit.org/files/288/1948_Heppenheimer_Proklamation.pdf|archive-date= 3 September 2015}}</ref> As such, the party included former members of the pre-1933 [[German People's Party]] (DVP) which represented the more [[Conservative liberalism|conservative]] and [[National liberalism|national]] tradition of [[Liberalism in Germany|German liberalism]] and members from the [[Social liberalism|social liberal]] [[German Democratic Party]] (DDP). The proposed name, Liberal Democratic Party, was rejected by the delegates, who voted 64 to 25 in favour of the name Free Democratic Party (FDP).

The party's first chairman was Theodor Heuss, a member of the Democratic People's Party in Württemberg-Baden; his deputy was [[Franz Blücher]] of the FDP in the British Zone. The place for the party's foundation was chosen deliberately: the "[[Heppenheim conference|Heppenheim Assembly]]" was held at the Hotel ''Halber Mond'' on 10 October 1847, a meeting of moderate liberals who were preparing for what would be, within a few months, the [[German revolutions of 1848–1849]].

=== 1949–1969: reconstruction of Germany ===
[[File:Schlußstrich drunter - FDP election campaign poster, Germany 1949.jpg|thumb|alt=Political poster in German: "Schlußstrich drunter! Schluss mit Entnazifizierung / Entrechtung / Entmündigung / Schluss mit dem Staatsbürger 2. Klasse / Wer staatsbürgerliche Gleichberechtigung will, wählt FDP (bisher LDP)"|{{lang|la|"Schlußstrich drunter!"}}—FDP election campaign poster reading "Draw a line under it" before the 1949 Bundestag election in Hesse calling for a halt to "[[denazification]], disenfranchisement, disempowerment, second class citizenship" and for "equality of civil rights"]]

In the [[1949 West German federal election|first elections to the Bundestag on 14 August 1949]], the FDP won a vote share of 11.9 percent (with 12 direct mandates, particularly in Baden-Württemberg and Hesse), and thus obtained 52 of 402 seats. In September of the same year the FDP chairman [[Theodor Heuss]] was elected the first [[President of Germany|President]] of the [[Federal Republic of Germany]]. In his [[1954 West German presidential election|1954 re-election]], he received the best election result to date of a President with 871 of 1018 votes (85.6 percent) of the [[Federal Convention (Germany)|Federal Assembly]]. Adenauer was also elected on the proposal of the new German President with an extremely narrow majority as the first Chancellor. The FDP participated with the [[CDU/CSU]] and the national-conservative [[Deutsche Partei|German Party (DP)]] in Adenauer's coalition cabinet; they had three ministers: [[Franz Blücher]] (Vice-Chancellor), [[Thomas Dehler]] (justice), and [[Eberhard Wildermuth]] (housing).

On the most important economic, social and [[German question|German national]] issues, the FDP agreed with their coalition partners, the CDU/CSU. However, the FDP offered to middle-class voters a secular party that refused the [[Parochial school|religious schools]] and accused the opposition parties of clericalization. The FDP said they were known also as a consistent representative of the market economy, while the CDU was then dominated nominally from the Ahlen Programme, which allowed a [[Third Way]] between [[capitalism]] and [[socialism]]. [[Ludwig Erhard]], the father of the [[social market economy]], had his followers in the early years of the Federal Republic in the CDU/CSU rather than in the FDP. The FDP won Hesse's 1950 state election with 31.8 percent, the best result in its history, through appealing to East Germans displaced by the war by including them on their ticket.

Up to the 1950s, several of the FDP's regional organizations were to the right of the CDU/CSU, particularly the [[Hesse]], [[Lower Saxony]], and [[North Rhine-Westphalia]] branches where [[Friedrich Middelhauve]] tried to foster a National Rally as a third bloc next to Social Democrats and Christian Democrats. This was criticized by the social liberals around [[Theodor Heuss]] who distanced himself from the "Nazi FDP" branches.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blasius |first=Rainer |date=2011-02-23 |title=Nazi-Liberale: Lumpensammler von Opladen |url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/politik/nazi-liberale-lumpensammler-von-opladen-1597391.html |access-date=2024-12-26 |website=FAZ.NET |language=de}}</ref> Under the influence of the party's right wing, the Free Democrats campaigned against West Germany's [[denazification]] provisions and courted even former office-holders of the Third Reich with nationalist values. At their party conference in Munich in 1951, they demanded the release of all "so-called [[war crime|war criminals]]" and welcomed the establishment of the "Association of German soldiers" of former [[Wehrmacht]] and [[Schutzstaffel|SS]] members to advance the integration of the Nazi forces in democracy. These FDP members were seen as part of the [[far-right]] extremist block along with the [[German Party (1947)|German Party]] in West Germany by the US intelligence officials.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1952-54v07p1/d161|title=Foreign Relations of the United States, 1952–1954, Germany and Austria, Volume VII, Part 1 |publisher=Office of the Historian, State Department|location=United States}}</ref> The 1953 [[Naumann Circle]], named after [[Werner Naumann]], consisted of a group of former Nazis who tried to infiltrate the party. After the [[British occupation zone|British occupation authorities]] had arrested seven prominent members of the Naumann Circle, the FDP federal board installed a commission of inquiry, chaired by Thomas Dehler, which particularly sharply criticized the situation in the North Rhine-Westphalian FDP. In the following years, the right wing lost power, and the extreme right increasingly sought areas of activity outside the FDP. In the [[1953 West German federal election|1953 federal election]], the FDP received 9.5 percent of the party votes, 10.8 percent of the primary vote (with 14 direct mandates, particularly in [[Hamburg]], Lower Saxony, Hesse, [[Württemberg]], and [[Bavaria]]) and 48 of 487 seats.{{citation needed|date=June 2021}}

In the second term of the Bundestag, the South German Liberal Democrats gained influence in the party controlling the party leadership between 1954 and 1960.{{Citation needed|date=March 2014}} Thomas Dehler, a representative of a more social-liberal course from [[Bavaria]] took over as party and parliamentary leader. The former Minister of Justice Dehler, who in 1933 suffered persecution by the Nazis, was known for his populist rhetorics and tried to emancipate the party from Adenauer's CDU/CSU. In the mid-1950s, there were some disagreements between Dehler and Adenauer over foreign policy issues, particularly the founding of the [[European Defence Community]] and the [[Saar statute]]. The FDP took an emphatically nationalist stance on both issues.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Weipert |first=Matthias |title=„Verantwortung für das Allgemeine“? Bundespräsident Theodor Heuss und die FDP |publisher=Stiftung Bundespräsident-Theodor-Heuss-Haus |year=2009 |isbn=978-3-9809603-7-3 |location=Stuttgart}}</ref> In 1956, the infights between Dehler and Adenauer culminated in a government crisis: The FDP in North Rhine-Westphalia terminated their alliance with the Christian Democrats and formed a new state government with the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]] and the [[Centre Party (Germany)|German Center Party]] which led to a party split. 16 members of parliament, including former party leader [[Franz Blücher]] and the four federal ministers from the FDP left their party and founded the short-lived [[Free People's Party (Germany)|Free People's Party (FVP)]]. Whilst the FVP continued the government coalition with Adenauer's CDU/CSU and merged with the right-wing German Party in 1957, the FDP took it to the opposition for the first time in its history.<ref name=":0" />

Only one of the smaller post-war parties, the FDP survived despite many problems. In the [[1957 West German federal election|1957 federal elections]] they still reached 7.7 percent of the vote and held 41 of 497 seats in the Bundestag. However, they still remained in opposition because the Union won an absolute majority. At the federal party meeting in Berlin at the end of January 1957, Thomas Dehler was replaced as party chairman by another liberal democrat from South Germany, [[Reinhold Maier]], who was able to stabilize his party before he made way for [[Erich Mende]] from North Rhine-Westphalia in 1960. With Mende as party leader the FDP went into the [[1961 West German federal election|1961 federal election]] with the promise of ending Konrad Adenauer's leadership and gained 12.8 percent nationwide, the best result until then. After the election, however, the FDP again formed a coalition with Adenauer's CDU on the condition that he would retire as chancellor after two years. These events led to the FDP being nicknamed the {{lang|de|Umfallerpartei}} ("pushover party").<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OThqlaLQjFIC&pg=PA65 |page=66 |title=Die Bundesrepublik Deutschland: Eine Bilanz nach 60 Jahren |isbn=978-3-412-20237-8 |last1=Schwarz |first1=Hans-Peter |year=2008 |publisher=Böhlau }}</ref> In the 1962 [[Spiegel affair]], the FDP temporarily withdrew their ministers from the federal government forcing [[List of German defence ministers|Defence Minister]] [[Franz Josef Strauss|Franz-Josef Strauß]] to resign. In accordance with his agreement with the FDP, Adenauer resigned from his chancellorship in October 1963, making place for [[Ludwig Erhard]] who appointed FDP leader Erich Mende as Vice Chancellor and [[Minister of Intra-German Relations|Minister of All-German Affairs]].

In the [[1965 West German federal election|1965 federal elections]] the FDP gained 9.5 percent. The Free Democrats initially renewed their alliance with the CDU under Erhard but the coalition broke up in 1966   on the issue of tax increases. During the 1966-1969 [[Grand coalition (Germany)|Grand coalition]] the party led the opposition. Under their new chairman, Walter Scheel, there were signs of a change both in foreign policy and in party strategy: For the first time, the FDP opened up to a coalition with the SPD on a federal level, embracing foreign minister [[Willy Brandt]]'s [[Ostpolitik]].

=== 1969–1982: social changes and crises ===
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[[File:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1989-047-20, Walter Scheel.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Walter Scheel]] served as Foreign Minister, Vice Chancellor, Acting Chancellor and [[President of Germany]].]]

The [[1969 West German federal election]] led to the first [[Social–liberal coalition|social-liberal coalition]] between Social Democrats and Free Democrats in German post-war history. Even though the Christian Democrats won the election, the Free Democrats rejected a new centre-right alliance and opted for a centre-left coalition under the new Chancellor [[Willy Brandt]]. With FDP leader Walter Scheel as Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister, the liberals initiated a new controversial [[Ostpolitik]] effectively normalizing relations between capitalist-democratic West Germany and communist-led East Germany. Within the FDP, this policy was quite controversial, especially after the ''de facto'' recognition of the [[Oder-Neisse line]] by the 1970 [[Treaty of Warsaw (1970)|Treaty of Warsaw]].

In July 1970, right-wing members founded a "non-partisan" organization called the National-Liberal Action with the goal of breaking up the SPD/FDP coalition government. A little later, members of parliament Siegfried Zoglmann, [[Heinz Starke]] and former party leader [[Erich Mende]] left the party with Starke and Mende joining the CDU and Zoglmann founding a new splinter party called German Union ''(Deutsche Union)''. This led to the [[1972 West German federal election|1972 snap elections]] from which the SPD/FDP government emerged even stronger. In 1974, party leader Walter Scheel was the second Liberal to be elected Federal President after [[Theodor Heuss]]. He was succeeded by Interior Minister [[Hans-Dietrich Genscher]] as the new FDP leader and Foreign Minister who continued the centre-left coalition under new SPD Chancellor [[Helmut Schmidt]].

The party's centre-left strategy was supported by a new party manifesto, the 1971 Freiburg Theses (''Freiburger Thesen'') which set the party on a [[Progressivism|progressive]] and [[Social liberalism|social liberal]] course.<ref name="Merkl1989"/> Among other things, the party committed itself to "self-determination", "democratization of society", a "reform of capitalism" and a form of [[Eco-liberalism|ecoliberalism]] which prioritized "environmental protection over profit and personal gains".<ref>Karl-Hermann Flach, Werner Maihofer und Walter Scheel: Die Freiburger Thesen der Liberalen. Rowohlt, Reinbek 1972, ISBN 3-499-11545-X.</ref> However, in 1977, the progressive liberal Freiburg Theses were supplemented and partially revised by the more [[Economic liberalism|economically liberal]] Kiel Theses (''Kieler Thesen''), effectively setting the party back on a classical liberal course.

Even prior to the [[1980 West German federal election]], cooperation between Social Democrats and Free Democrats seemed to come to an end but the candidacy of CSU chairman [[Franz Josef Strauss]] for chancellor led both parties to once again renew their coalition government.

=== 1982–1998: Kohl government, economic transition and reunification ===
{{Unreferenced section|date=September 2024}}

In the fall of 1982, the FDP reneged on its coalition agreement with the SPD and instead threw its support behind the CDU/CSU. On 1 October, the FDP and CDU/CSU were able to oust Schmidt and replace him with CDU party chairman Helmut Kohl as the new Chancellor. The coalition change resulted in severe internal conflicts, and the FDP then lost about 20 percent of its 86,500 members, as reflected in the general election in 1983 by a drop from 10.6 percent to 7.0 percent. The members went mostly to the SPD, the Greens and newly formed splinter parties, such as the left-liberal party [[Liberal Democrats (Germany)|Liberal Democrats]] (LD). The exiting members included the former FDP General Secretary and later EU Commissioner [[Günter Verheugen]].

At the party convention in November 1982, the [[Schleswig-Holstein]] state chairman [[Uwe Ronneburger]] challenged [[Hans-Dietrich Genscher]] as party chairman. Ronneburger received 186 of the votes—about 40 percent—and was just narrowly defeated by Genscher who went on to act as party chairman as well as Vice Chancellor and Foreign Minister in the new [[First Kohl cabinet|Kohl government]]. In the following federal election campaigns during the 1980s and 1990s, the party sided with the CDU and CSU, the main conservative parties in Germany.

in 1980, FDP members who did not agree with the politics of the left-leaning FDP youth organization [[JungdemokratInnen/Junge Linke|Young Democrats]] founded the [[Young Liberals (Germany)|Young Liberals]] (JuLis). For a time JuLis and the Young Democrats operated side by side, until the JuLis became the sole official youth wing of the FDP in 1983. The Young Democrats split from the FDP and were left as a party-independent youth organization ultimately merging with a marxist youth group to form the "Young Democrats/Young Left" in 1992.

During the "[[Peaceful Revolution]]" of 1989 in the [[East Germany|GDR]], a couple of new liberal parties emerged from the opposition, like the [[Free Democratic Party (East Germany)]] or the [[German Forum Party]]. Prior to the [[1990 East German general election|March 1990 Volkskammer elections]] they joined the established [[Liberal Democratic Party of Germany|Liberal Democratic Party]], who had previously acted as a pro-communist [[bloc party (politics)|bloc party]] on the side of the SED, to form the [[Alliance of Free Democrats]] (BFD). In the [[Volkskammer]] election of March 1990 the Association of Free Democrats was heavily supported by the West German FDP and polled 5.28% of the votes. Most of the seats went to [[Liberal Democratic Party of Germany|Liberal Democratic Party]] members, whose leader [[Rainer Ortleb]] became their parliamentary leader. It then participated in the last GDR government led by [[Lothar de Maizière]]. After the [[Liberal Democratic Party of Germany|Liberal Democratic Party]] and another former bloc party, the [[National Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany)|National Democratic Party of Germany]], merged into the new party ''Association of Free Democrats'' in late March, the several liberal parties all united with the West German FDP in August 1990 to form the first all-German party. The merger brought the Free Democrats a great, albeit short-lived, increase in membership and assets of DM 6.3 million in cash and property.

At the time of reunification, the FDP's objective was a special economic zone in the former East Germany, but the party could not prevail against the CDU/CSU. In the [[1990 German federal election|first all-German Bundestag elections]], the centre-right Kohl coalition was confirmed, the FDP received 11.0 percent of the valid votes (79 seats) and won in Genscher's city of birth [[Halle (Saale)|Halle]] (Saale) the first direct mandate since 1957. During the 1990s, the FDP won between 6.2 and 11 percent of the vote in Bundestag elections.

In the second half of the 1990s, however, the FDP had to contend with a series of electoral defeats at local and state level, which led to it falling out of twelve of the 16 state parliaments and the European Parliament between 1993 and 1995. The party was derisively referred to as the ‘lady without an abdomen’. At the same time, the party was shaken by new infights between the left and right wings. In 1996, Federal Minister of Justice [[Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger]], a prominent representative of the party's [[Social liberalism|social liberal]] wing, resigned in protest to the government's policy of expanding the state's right to interfere in citizens' private domain by means of acoustic observation ''(Großer Lauschangriff'', literally "big eavesdropping attack"). On the other hand, former [[Public Prosecutor General (Germany)|Public Prosecutor General]] [[Alexander von Stahl]] tried to rebuild the party's [[National liberalism|national liberal]] wing in an ultimately failed attempt to bring the FDP onto a right-wing course modelled on [[Jörg Haider]]'s [[Freedom Party of Austria|FPÖ]] in [[Austria]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rechtsorientierung der FDP: Der nationalliberale Stammtisch |url=https://www.endstation-rechts.de/news/rechtsorientierung-der-fdp-der-nationalliberale-stammtisch |access-date=2024-12-29 |website=Endstation Rechts. |language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Alexander von Stahl: Möllemanns FDP-Kurs hat nichts mit nationalliberal zu tun - WELT |url=https://www.welt.de/print-welt/article391489/Alexander-von-Stahl-Moellemanns-FDP-Kurs-hat-nichts-mit-nationalliberal-zu-tun.html |access-date=2024-12-29 |website=DIE WELT |language=de}}</ref>

These infights contributed to the CDU/CSU-FDP defeat in the [[1998 German federal election]] which ended the 16-year centre-right coalition in Germany and the FDP's nearly three decade reign in government. For the first time since 1969 (apart from a brief period in 1982), the Free Democrats now found themselves in opposition and out of power on a federal level.

=== 2002 and 2005 federal elections ===
Following their electoral defeat, the party developed a strategy of equidistance to the CDU and SPD championed by [[North Rhine-Westphalia|North Rhine-Westfalia]] state party leader [[Jürgen Möllemann]] who led the party to a good result in the [[2000 North Rhine-Westphalia state election|2000 state elections]]. At their 2001 party conference in Düsseldorf, outgoing party leader [[Wolfgang Gerhardt]] was replaced by a 39 year old [[Guido Westerwelle]] who became the youngest FDP leader in history. The party conference also adopted a strategy developed by Möllemann which became known as ‘Project 18’. It aimed at winning new groups of voters through new forms of communication and presentation and at profiling the party as an independent force autonomous from SPD and CDU. The name referred to the electoral goal of tripling the party's share of the vote from 6% to 18%. While Westerwelle and Möllemann generated a lot of media attention, the party was once again embroiled in controversy on Westerwelle's perceived lack of seriousness in his election campaign ("Spaßwahlkampf") and on Möllemann's alleged right-wing populism. Many critics interpreted the use of the [[18 (number)|number 18]] as a hidden right-wing extremist symbol (a code for the letters A and H, meaning Adolf Hitler) and an attempt to attract voters on the far right. In addition, Möllemann launched a leaflet campaign with harsh criticism of the [[Israel]]<nowiki/>i government under [[Ariel Sharon]] and the German-Jewish journalist [[Michel Friedman]], which critics interpreted as anti-Semitism. Amid controversy over a possible right-wing populist orientation associated with this, the FDP ultimately achieved 7.4% instead of the targeted 18 per cent in the [[2002 German federal election]].[[File:Freie Demokratische Partei, Deutschland (logo - 2005).svg|thumb|100px|Former logo (2001–2014)]]
In the [[2005 German federal election|2005 general election]] the party won 9.8 percent of the vote and 61 federal deputies, an unpredicted improvement from prior opinion polls. It is believed that this was partly due to [[tactical voting]] by CDU and [[Christian Social Union of Bavaria]] (CSU) alliance supporters who hoped for stronger market-oriented economic reforms than the CDU/CSU alliance called for. However, because the CDU did worse than predicted, the FDP and the CDU/CSU alliance were unable to form a coalition government. At other times, for example after the 2002 federal election, a coalition between the FDP and CDU/CSU was impossible primarily because of the weak results of the FDP.

The CDU/CSU parties had achieved the third-worst performance in German postwar history with only 35.2 percent of the votes. Therefore, the FDP was unable to form a coalition with its preferred partners, the CDU/CSU parties. As a result, the party was considered as a potential member of two other [[political coalition]]s, following the election. One possibility was a partnership between the FDP, the [[Social Democratic Party of Germany]] (SPD) and the [[Alliance 90/The Greens]], known as a "[[traffic light coalition]]", named after the colors of the three parties. This coalition was ruled out, because the FDP considered the Social Democrats and the Greens insufficiently committed to market-oriented [[economic reform]]. The other possibility was a CDU-FDP-Green coalition, known as a "[[Jamaica coalition (politics)|Jamaica coalition]]" because of the colours of the three parties. This coalition wasn't concluded either, since the Greens ruled out participation in any coalition with the CDU/CSU. Instead, the CDU formed a [[Grand coalition]] with the SPD, and the FDP entered the [[Opposition (parliamentary)|opposition]]. FDP leader [[Guido Westerwelle]] became the unofficial leader of the opposition by virtue of the FDP's position as the largest opposition party in the Bundestag.

In the [[2009 European Parliament election in Germany|2009 European election]], the FDP received 11% of the national vote (2,888,084 votes in total) and returned 12 [[Member of the European Parliament|MEP]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/de/europawahlen/EU_BUND_09/ergebnisse/bundesergebnisse//|title=Übersicht|work=bundeswahlleiter.de|access-date=5 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923231614/http://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/de/europawahlen/EU_BUND_09/ergebnisse/bundesergebnisse/|archive-date=23 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== 2009–2013: Merkel II government ===
In the [[2009 German federal election|September 2009 federal elections]], the FDP increased its share of the vote by 4.8 percentage points to 14.6%, an all-time record. This percentage was enough to offset a decline in the CDU/CSU's vote compared to 2005, to create a CDU-FDP centre-right governing coalition in the Bundestag with a 53% majority of seats. On election night, party leader Westerwelle said his party would work to ensure that civil liberties were respected and that Germany got an "equitable tax system and better education opportunities".<ref>[http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4728511,00.html Merkel to head new center-right government] [[Deutsche Welle]] 27 September 2009.</ref>

The party also made gains in the two state elections held at the same time, acquiring sufficient seats for a CDU-FDP coalition in the northernmost state, [[Schleswig-Holstein]],<ref>{{cite news |title=CDU and FDP form coalition in Schleswig-Holstein |url=https://www.thelocal.de/20091017/22639/ |newspaper=The Local Germany |publisher=The Local Europe AB |access-date=7 October 2022}}</ref> and gaining enough votes in left-leaning [[Brandenburg]] to clear the 5% hurdle to enter that state's parliament.{{citation needed|date=March 2016}}

However, after reaching its best ever election result in 2009, the FDP's support collapsed.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/may/25/germany-liberal-collapse-free-democrats |title=Germany's Liberal Collapse |newspaper=The Guardian |date=24 August 2009 |access-date=3 June 2012 |location=London |first=Hans |last=Kundnani}}</ref> The party's policy pledges were put on hold by Merkel as the [[Great Recession]] unfolded and with the onset of the [[European debt crisis]] in 2010.<ref>Brian Parkin and Tony Czuczka (23 September 2013), [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-22/german-king-makers-fdp-face-parliamentary-exile-after-64-years.html German 'King Makers' FDP Face Parliamentary Exile] ''[[Bloomberg News]]''.</ref> By the end of 2010, the party's support had dropped to as low as 5%. The FDP retained their seats in the state elections in [[2010 North Rhine-Westphalia state election|North Rhine-Westphalia]], which was held six months after the federal election, but out of the seven state elections that have been held since 2009, the FDP have lost all their seats in five of them due to failing to cross the 5% threshold.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Witting|first=Volker|date=25 November 2021|title=Who is Christian Lindner, Germany's new Finance Minister?|work=[[Deutsche Welle]]|url=https://www.dw.com/en/who-is-christian-lindner-germanys-new-finance-minister/a-59627580|access-date=20 February 2022}}</ref>

Support for the party further eroded amid infighting and an internal rebellion over euro-area bailouts during the debt crisis.<ref>Leon Mangasarian (17 September 2013), [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-09-16/merkel-s-fdp-ally-begs-for-her-party-s-votes-in-survival-fight.html Merkel's FDP Ally Begs for Her Party's Votes in Survival Fight] ''[[Bloomberg News]]''.</ref>

Westerwelle stepped down as party leader following the 2011 state elections, in which the party was wiped out in [[2011 Saxony-Anhalt state election|Saxony-Anhalt]] and [[2011 Rhineland-Palatinate state election|Rhineland-Palatinate]] and lost half its seats in [[2011 Baden-Württemberg state election|Baden-Württemberg]]. Westerwelle was replaced in May 2011 by [[Philipp Rösler]]. Rösler was the first cabinet minister and vice-chancellor of Asian background in Germany. Rösler was the first cabinet minister and vice-chancellor of Asian background in Germany. The change in leadership failed to revive the FDP's fortunes, however, and in the next series of state elections, the party lost all its seats in [[2011 Bremen state election|Bremen]], [[2011 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election|Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]], and [[2011 Berlin state election|Berlin]].<ref>{{citation|title=Rot-Grün als "große Koalition"|url=http://www.stern.de/politik/deutschland/nach-der-wahl-in-bremen-eine-rundum-ratlose-kanzlerin-1688143-infographic.html|magazine=[[Stern (magazine)|Stern]]|date=23 May 2011|access-date=15 May 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120925082144/http://www.stern.de/politik/deutschland/nach-der-wahl-in-bremen-eine-rundum-ratlose-kanzlerin-1688143-infographic.html|archive-date=25 September 2012}}</ref> In Berlin, the party lost nearly 75% of the support they had had in the previous election.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2011/0919/1224304355656.html |title=Berlin pirates force FDP to walk the plank |publisher=Irishtimes.com |date=19 September 2011 |access-date=3 June 2012}}</ref>

In March 2012, the FDP lost all their state-level representation in the [[2012 Saarland state election]]. However, this was offset by the [[2012 Schleswig-Holstein state election|Schleswig-Holstein]] state elections, when they achieved 8% of the vote, which was a severe loss of seats but still over the 5% threshold. In the snap elections in [[2012 North Rhine-Westphalia state election|North Rhine-Westphalia]] a week later, the FDP not only crossed the electoral threshold, but also increased its share of the votes to 2 percentage points higher than in the previous state election. This was attributed to the local leadership of [[Christian Lindner]].<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/14/world/europe/in-rebuke-to-merkel-social-democrats-win-german-vote.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220102/https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/14/world/europe/in-rebuke-to-merkel-social-democrats-win-german-vote.html |archive-date=2 January 2022 |url-access=limited |url-status=live | work=The New York Times | first=Nicholas | last=Kulish | title=Angela Merkel's Party Loses State Election in Germany | date=13 May 2012}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

=== 2013 federal election ===
[[File:FDP_Poster_(2).jpg|thumb|FDP election poster for the 2013 federal election]]

The FDP last won a directly elected seat in 1990, in [[Halle (electoral district)|Halle]]—the only time it has won a directly elected seat since 1957.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ACIDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA27 |title=The Left Party in Contemporary German Politics|first1=Dan|last1=Hough|first2=Michael|last2=Koß|first3=Jonathan|last3=Olsen|publisher=[[Springer Nature|Springer]]|date=2007|isbn=978-0-230-59214-8}}</ref> The party's inability to win directly elected seats came back to haunt it at the [[2013 German federal election|2013 election]], in which it came up just short of the 5% threshold. With no directly elected seats, the FDP was shut out of the Bundestag for the first time since 1949. After the previous chairman Philipp Rösler then resigned, Christian Lindner took over the leadership of the party.

=== 2014 European and state elections ===
[[File:ChristianLindner-FDP-1.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Christian Lindner]] is the party chairman, having succeeded [[Philipp Rösler]] in December 2013.]]

In the [[2014 European Parliament election in Germany|2014 European parliament elections]], the FDP received 3.4% of the national vote (986,253 votes in total) and returned 3 [[Member of the European Parliament|MEP]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/de/europawahlen/EU_BUND_14/ergebnisse/bundesergebnisse/ |title=Übersicht |work=bundeswahlleiter.de |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150705072802/http://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/de/europawahlen/EU_BUND_14/ergebnisse/bundesergebnisse/ |archive-date=5 July 2015 }}</ref> In the [[2014 Brandenburg state election]] the party experienced a 5.8% down-swing and lost all their representatives in the Brandenburg state parliament. In the [[2014 Saxony state election]], the party experienced a 5.2% down-swing, again losing all of its seats. In the [[2014 Thuringian state election]] a similar phenomenon was repeated with the party falling below the 5% threshold following a 5.1% drop in popular vote.

=== 2015–2020 ===
The party managed to enter parliament in the [[2015 Bremen state election]] with the party receiving 6.5% of the vote and gaining 6 seats. However, it failed to get into government as a coalition between the Social Democrats and the Greens was created. In the [[2016 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election]] the party failed to get into parliament despite increasing its vote share by 0.3%. The party did manage to get into parliament in [[Baden-Württemberg]], gaining 3% of the vote and a total of 12 seats. This represents a five-seat improvement over their previous results. In the [[2016 Berlin state election]] the party gained 4.9% of the vote and 12 seats but still failed to get into government. A red-red-green coalition was instead formed relegating the FDP to the opposition. In the [[2016 Rhineland-Palatinate state election]], the party managed to enter parliament receiving 6.2% of the vote and 7 seats. It also managed to enter government under a [[traffic light coalition]]. In [[2016 Saxony-Anhalt state election]] the party narrowly missed the 5% threshold, receiving 4.9% of the vote and therefore receiving zero seats despite a 1% swing in their favour.

The [[2017 North Rhine-Westphalia state election]] was widely considered a test of the party's future as their chairman Christian Lindner was also leading the party in that state. The party experienced a 4% swing in its favour gaining 6 seats and entering into a coalition with the CDU with a bare majority. In the [[2017 Saarland state election]] the party again failed to gain any seats despite a 1% swing in their favour. The party gained 3 seats and increased its vote share by 3.2% in the [[2017 Schleswig-Holstein state election]]. This success was often credited to their state chairman [[Wolfgang Kubicki]]. They also managed to re-enter the government under a [[Jamaica coalition (politics)|Jamaica coalition]].

In the [[2017 German federal election|2017 federal election]] the party scored 10.7% of votes and re-entered the Bundestag, winning 80 seats. After the election, a [[Jamaica coalition (politics)|Jamaica coalition]] was considered between the CDU, Greens, and FDP. However, FDP chief Christian Lindner walked out of the coalition talks due to a disagreement over European migration policy, saying "It is better not to govern than to govern badly."<ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.dw.com/en/german-election-preliminary-coalition-talks-collapse-after-fdp-walks-out/a-41445987 | title=German election: Preliminary coalition talks collapse after FDP walks out &#124; DW &#124; 19.11.2017 | website=[[Deutsche Welle]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/nov/19/german-coalition-talks-close-to-collapse-angela-merkel | title=German coalition talks collapse after deadlock on migration and energy | website=[[TheGuardian.com]] | date=20 November 2017 }}</ref> As a result, the CDU/CSU formed another [[Grand coalition (Germany)|grand coalition]] with the SPD.

The FDP won 5.4% and 5 seats in the [[2019 European Parliament election in Germany|2019 European election]].

In the [[2019 Thuringian state election|October 2019 Thuringian state election]], the FDP won seats in the Landtag of [[Thuringia]] for the first time since 2009. It exceeded the 5% threshold by just 5 votes.<ref>[https://www.thelocal.de/20191028/five-extra-votes-put-free-democrats-in-thuringias-state-parliament How five votes put Germany's Free Democrats in Thuringia state parliament], ''The Local'' (28 October 2019).</ref> In February 2020, the FDP's [[Thomas Kemmerich]] was elected Minister-President of Thuringia by the Landtag with the likely support of the CDU and [[Alternative for Germany|AfD]], becoming the second member of the FDP to serve as head of government in a German state. This was also the first time a head of government had been elected with the support of AfD. Under intense pressure from state and federal politicians, Kemmerich resigned the following day, stating he would seek new elections.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51399445|title=Germany AfD: Thuringia PM quits amid fury over far right|publisher=BBC|date=8 February 2020}}</ref> The next month, he was replaced by [[Bodo Ramelow]] of [[The Left (Germany)|The Left]]; the FDP did not run a candidate in the second vote for Minister-President.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/germanys-thuringia-gets-left-wing-state-premier-in-re-run-vote/|title=Germany's 6Thuringia gets left-wing state premier in re-run vote|date=4 March 2020}}</ref>

=== 2021–present ===
In 2021, the FDP returned to the [[2021 Saxony-Anhalt state election|Saxony-Anhalt]] state parliament after five years of absence. They had similar success in [[2021 Baden-Württemberg state election|Baden-Württemberg]] and [[2021 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election|Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]], but faced setbacks in [[2021 Baden-Württemberg state election|Baden-Württemberg]], [[2021 Berlin state election|Berlin]] and [[2021 Rhineland-Palatinate state election|Rhineland-Palatinate]].

In the [[2021 German federal election|September 2021 federal election]], the CDU/CSU under [[Armin Laschet]] was defeated. The FDP saw both its vote share and number of seats grow, to 11.5% and 92 seats respectively. As a result, the SPD, Greens, and FDP entered talks to form an ''Ampelkoalition'' ([[traffic light coalition]]). In the agreement finalized on 24 November, the FDP held four federal ministries in the [[Scholz cabinet]] ([[Federal Ministry of Finance (Germany)|Finance]], [[Federal Ministry of Justice (Germany)|Justice]], [[Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Affairs (Germany)|Digital and Transport]] and [[Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Germany)|Education and Research]]).<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/germanys-spd-greens-fdp-present-coalition-deal-wednesday-2021-11-24/ | title=Auf wiedersehen Angela as three-way coalition signs governing pact | newspaper=Reuters | date=24 November 2021 | last1=Rinke | first1=Andreas | last2=Marsh | first2=Sarah }}</ref>

After the comeback in the Federal Government, the FDP saw poor approval in national opinion polls, and started falling out of multiple state parliaments. In March 2022, the FDP didn't win any seats in [[2022 Saarland state election|Saarland]].<ref>{{cite web |date=27 March 2022 |title=Germany: SPD maintains winning streak in Saarland vote |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-spd-maintains-winning-streak-in-saarland-vote/a-61271943 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref> Then in October it lost all 11 of their seats in [[2022 Lower Saxony state election|Lower Saxony]].<ref>{{cite web |date=9 October 2022 |title=Germany: Lower Saxony election a boost for Chancellor Olaf Scholz |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-lower-saxony-election-a-boost-for-chancellor-olaf-scholz/a-63382759 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref> It also lost all 12 seats in the [[2023 Berlin repeat state election]],<ref>{{cite web |date=13 February 2023 |title=Berlin election win boosts German conservatives |url=https://www.dw.com/en/berlin-election-win-boosts-german-conservatives/a-64690772 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref> and in May they lost over half their seats in [[2022 North Rhine-Westphalia state election|North Rhine-Westphalia]] and [[2022 Schleswig-Holstein state election|Schleswig-Holstein]].<ref>{{cite web |date=15 May 2022 |title=Germany: Scholz's party defeated in bellwether North Rhine-Westphalia election |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-scholzs-party-defeated-in-bellwether-north-rhine-westphalia-election/a-61803497 |website=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref> In the [[2023 Bavarian state election]], where [[Martin Hagen (politician)|Martin Hagen]] led the party, it lost all 11 seats.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Landtagswahl 2023 in Bayern: Aktuelle Umfrage bestätigt Trend – CSU und Freie Wähler als Regierungskoalition |url=https://www.infranken.de/bayern/landtagswahl-2023-in-bayern-aktuelle-umfrage-bestaetigt-trend-csu-und-freie-waehler-als-regierungskoalition-art-5678354 |access-date=4 May 2023 |website=inFranken.de |language=de}}</ref> The FDP were similarly wiped out in the [[2024 Thuringian state election]], where [[Thomas Kemmerich]] lost his party's 5 seats,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-01 |title=German far right wins first major election since World War II |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-far-right-elections-victory-afd-cdu-olaf-scholz/ |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=POLITICO |language=en-GB}}</ref> again in the [[2024 Saxony state election]], where the FDP achieved less than 1% of the vote,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-09-02 |title=AfD victory in Thuringia: Scholz urges 'firewall' to keep out far right |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cd05pdmzgp5o |access-date=2024-09-05 |website=BBC News |language=en-GB}}</ref> and lastly in the [[2025 Hamburg state election]], where the party lost its last constituency sit,<ref>{{Cite web |title=FDP digests another major loss – DW – 03/03/2025 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/fdp-digests-another-major-loss/liveblog-post-71811948 |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=dw.com |language=en}}</ref> making a total of six states where the party was wiped out since 2021.

In the [[2024 European Parliament election in Germany|2024 European Parliament elections]] the party kept on 5 seats, coming in sixth, behind the newly formed [[Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance|BSW]].

In November 2024, [[Christian Lindner]] was fired as [[Federal Ministry of Finance (Germany)|Minister of Finance]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kanzler Scholz entlässt Finanzminister Lindner |url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/eilmeldung-ampelregierung-scholz-entlaesst-lindner-100.html |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=Tagesschau |language=de}}</ref> The FDP leaving the coalition meant the [[2024 German government crisis|collapse of the traffic light government]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-11-06 |title=German government coalition collapses as Scholz sacks Finance Minister Lindner |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/germany-coalition-government-collapse-olaf-scholz-finance-minister-christian-lindner/ |access-date=2024-11-06 |website=POLITICO |language=en-GB}}</ref> With the crisis taking place the four ministries held by the party were lost, as [[Marco Buschmann]] and [[Bettina Stark-Watzinger]] resigned.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Scheib |first1=Katrin |last2=Daniel |first2=Isabelle |last3=AFP |date=2024-11-07 |title=Zukunft der Bundesregierung: Wissing übernimmt Justizministerium, Özdemir Bildungsministerium |url=https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2024-11/wissing-uebernimmt-justizministerium-oezdemir-bildungsministerium |access-date=2024-11-11 |work=Die Zeit |language=de-DE |issn=0044-2070}}</ref> However, [[Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport|Digital and Transport]] minister [[Volker Wissing]] decided to resign from the FDP instead in order to stay in cabinet.<ref>{{Cite web |title= Political wrangling starts after German coalition collapse – DW – 11/07/2024|website=[[Deutsche Welle]] |url=https://www.dw.com/en/political-wrangling-starts-after-german-coalition-collapse/a-70725678}}</ref> On the same month controversy was sparked after [[Die Zeit]] and [[Süddeutsche Zeitung]] reported that the crisis was in fact a deliberate strategy by the FDP, planned for weeks in advance, in a paper with heavy use of militaristic terminology, including the word [[D-Day]], a reference to allied invasion of Normany during WWII.<ref name="Pausch">{{Cite news |last=Pausch |first=Robert |date=2024-11-15 |title=FDP: Das liberale Drehbuch für den Regierungssturz |url=https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2024-11/christian-lindner-ampel-aus-fdp-bundesregierung |access-date=2025-03-04 |work=Die Zeit |language=de-DE |issn=0044-2070}}</ref> The reports contradicted declarations by the party leader Lindner on Scholz "calculated break" of the governing coalition.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zimmermann |first=Jan |title=Wie die "D-Day"-Affäre der FDP schadet |url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/innenpolitik/fdp-djir-sarai-ampelaus-dday-100.html |access-date=2025-03-04 |website=tagesschau.de |language=de}}</ref>

In the [[2025 German federal election|subsequent snap election]], FDP failed to reach the [[Five percent hurdle|5% threshold]] needed for parliamentary representation and as a result lost all their seats in [[Bundestag]] again. [[Christian Lindner]] and [[Wolfgang Kubicki]] would resign from party leadership.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Polansky |first=Martin |title=Die FDP fliegt aus dem Bundestag - und blickt in den Abgrund |url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/bundestagswahl/fdp-aus-lindner-100.html |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=tagesschau.de |language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=tagesschau.de |title=FDP-Chef Lindner kündigt Rückzug aus Politik an |url=https://www.tagesschau.de/eilmeldung/lindner-rueckzug-politik-100.html |access-date=2025-02-24 |website=tagesschau.de |language=de}}</ref>