FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai has resigned from his post in the wake of the “D-Day paper” affair. He stated that he had “unknowingly” provided false information about the internal document.
The so-called “D-Day paper”, a document that revealed apparent plans the FDP had to undermine the three-part coaolition it was part of, has put the party’s leadership under severe pressure. On Friday afternoon, general secretary Djir-Sarai resigned, followed shortly afterwards by party chairman Carsten Reymann.
The document, titled “D-Day scenarios and measures” and published on Thursday, contained a detailed plan on the “start of open field battle” as part of the party’s communication plan. The eight-page document was published on the FDP website and displayed party strategists’ thoughts on how and when the “ideal time” would come to leave the “traffic light” coalition it was a part of with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Greens.
The latest revelations could gain Chancellor Scholz a certain degree of sympathy after he had been heavily criticised for the dismissal of FDP politician and Finance Minister Christian Lindner, which caused the coalition’s collapse in early November. The newly published document effectively suggests that the FDP planned to break up the coalition themselves. This view was shared by 40% of Germans who largely blame the party for the government’s collapse – according to a survey conducted by Infratest dimap on behalf of public broadcaster ARD in early November. Only 19% of the survey’s respondents blamed SDP at the time, with these figures now potentially dropping even further.
Averting damage from the top
FDP Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai explained in a brief press conference that he would accept the consequences of the “strategy paper”, even though he had no knowledge of it. “I unknowingly provided false information about an internal document. This was not my intention, as I had no knowledge of this paper myself. Neither of its creation nor of its content. I apologise for this. The general secretary is responsible for such a process.” By resigning, he was taking political responsibility “to avert damage to my credibility and that of the FDP.”
Djir-Sarai was referring to a statement of his on 18 November, when the first media reports emerged that such a paper had been circulating within the FDP. “That’s not true,” he said at the time. “This term (D-Day) has not been used.”
Young Liberals, the independent youth wing of the FDP, earlier called for his resignation: “In order to prevent further damage to the party, I have called on Bijan Djir-Sarai to resign from his position,” said federal chairwoman Franziska Brandmann. “The paper that became public yesterday is unworthy of a liberal party,” emphasised Brandmann.
There was also criticism from senior party figures such as Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann. Dealing with exit scenarios was the right thing to do, said the FDP politician on X. However, the paper’s wording “would not have served the cause.”
Shortly after Djir-Sarai resigned, party chairman Carsten Reymann also quit his role: “I am doing this because I want to facilitate a personnel reorganisation of the party,” he said. “The FDP is facing an important federal election, which is a pivotal election for Germany’s future direction. The FDP should go into this election campaign with full vigour and without personnel debates,” added Reymann.
Reymann also revealed himself as the author of the strategy paper: “The document is a working paper that the party chairman first created on 24 October 2024 at 3:38 pm,” he wrote in a statement.
‘Open field battle’ against the coalition
The FDP paper outlined a “core narrative” that should be disseminated in the event of a withdrawal. It emphasised that a “directional decision” is necessary. The FDP saw the deep conflict between the coalition parties, particularly between two other partners and the FDP itself, as so serious that the federal government would be at risk from the situation. Only new elections would end the deadlock, according to people inside the FDP, which was why they saw a coalition breakup as justified.
The FDP leadership is said to have known nothing about this – although Reymann is a close confidant of the ousted Lindner. In his statement, Reymann clarified: “This technical paper was not the subject of political consultation between elected representatives and members of the government, but purely internal preparation in the event that the FDP left the ‘traffic light’ coalition.”
When asked whether the FDP had played the wrong game, Lindner told the Rheinische Post newspaper on Friday : “No, because at all times we were and are concerned with the political change that this country needs. The ‘traffic light’ could no longer deliver it.”
According to Lindner, it was a “paper in the draft stage” that employees had written which was 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 written.”
Former coalition partner and SPD chairman Lars Klingenbeil accused the FDP of waging a war against a government to which they themselves belong. He said it was good that citizens now knew how the coalition was broken, and could form their own judgement.
On 6 November, the “traffic light” coalition collaped when Chancellor Olaf Scholz dismissed his Finance Minister and FDP politician Christian Lindner. New elections are now scheduled for 23 February. Until then, the FDP, which has been weakened by several resignations, faces the challenge of reorganising itself.
