I think, no, and if so, it would lead to the mutual discomfort. The Free democrats were practically 'permanently joined' to the CDU on the federal level for more than sixteen years now, and also in most states. The symbiosis was advantageous for both sides, as FDP could propose unpopular decisions that CDU could then reduce in effect, and the public impression would stay positive for both of them. The reason for their recent failure seems to be that Germans got tired of being served the old soup over and over.
In Schmidt's times, the Free Democrats were more independent then in Kohl's time, or now, but they had to take the blame for riding their coalition partner to "death" as addicts to increased profile, and taking home the profit, of course.
It is not new that the FDP has to fight for survival, but at the time they have a problem in finding motivated and qualified politicians. Their current leader Gerhardt is a pretty good polemic rhetor, but not able to join the forces inside his party. Those forces however stay anonymous, as they are represented by politically insignificant people. Judged by quality of appearance, the FDP could have passed out already, but they have a fixed group of supporters that will not find a political home anywhere else. (Schroeder alluded to incorporating them into his new center, but this is dead now since the Holzmann intervention, or at least if there is a recurrence of this event.)
And a last sentence: incorporating the FDP into the CDU would have no visible effect. The mass of a black hole is not significantly changed by a sun or planet converging into it, nor is its' inner structure. If old FDP stayed visible inside the new CDU, it would be an embarassment for CDU and is therefore unlikely. Single members of course could be accepted, but they would have to abide by their new environment. That's what things are.
Regards, happy to serve, MNI. |
