FDP Bürgerbüro

An die  Herren Michael Link, MdB &  Richard Drautz , Staatssekretär a.D.

Klarastraße 7

74072 Heilbronn

20. Dezember 2011
Betreff: Mein Austritt aus der FDP

Lieber Michael, lieber Richard,

nach nunmehr fast 10 Jahren aktiver Mitgliedschaft in der FDP und der mit ihr verbundenen Organisationen erkläre ich hiermit mit sofortiger Wirkung meinen Austritt aus der FDP.

Zwei Jahre Regierungsbeteiligung im Bund sowie der jüngste Mitgliederentscheid über den ESM haben mir schmerzhaft zu Augen geführt, dass die FDP nicht für eine liberale Politik eintritt, die sie sich so gerne auf die Fahnen schreibt. Vielmehr hat die FDP in den vergangen zwei Jahren bewiesen, dass sie den anderen sozialdemokratischen Parteien im Bund in der Beliebigkeit ihrer Politik um nichts nachsteht. Die FDP hat es tatsächlich vollbracht eine liberale Position nach der anderen zu räumen – sei es aus purem Machtkalkül oder mangelndem Willen für die liberale Sache auch gegen Widerstände des étatistischen Mainstreams zu kämpfen. Genau das ist auch exakt der Grund warum die Partei in aktuellen Umfragen bei 3% liegt – um es sarkastisch zu sagen: niemand braucht eine weitere sozialdemokratische Partei für schwule Apotheker und schwäbische Hotelbesitzer. Die schweigende Mitte wünscht sich eine wirklich liberale Partei, welche die FDP nicht (mehr?) ist.

Die FDP hat es auf unbeschreibliche Art und Weise vollbracht in nur zwei Jahren alle Grundpfeiler des Liberalismus zu verraten: Wider jeder wirtschaftlichen Vernunft duldet – ja proklamiert – die FDP den offenen Bruch der Maastrichtverträge: No Bail-Out, Staatsanleihenkäufer der EZB. Wo ist die einst stolze Rechtsstaatspartei geblieben? Die Parteispitze stimmt ein in den europäischen Huldigungssingsang auf den europäischen Superstaat und nimmt zustimmend zu Kenntnis, dass die nationale Souveränitäten der europäischen Staaten an bürokratische und nicht demokratisch legitimierte Institutionen übertragen werden. Die FDP stimmt für die Aushöhlung der nationalen Budgethochheiten, fordert den Zentralismus und verteufelt das Subsidiaritätsprinzip. Man akzeptiert wider jedes marktwirtschaftliche Grundverständnis die Schaffung einer europäischen Transferunion, was für die Bundesrepublik über Jahrzehnte hinweg Zahlungsverbindlichkeiten von Milliarden über Milliarden in die europäischen Peripherieländer bedeuten wird. Selbst den Libyern versagte unser „liberaler“ Außenminister die individuelle Freiheit und das Recht auf Selbstbestimmung. Unter all diesen Punkten fällt es dann gar nicht mehr auf, dass die FDP vor zwei Jahren einst angetreten war, den Staat zurückzuführen, die Sozialsysteme weiter zu reformieren oder etwa das Steuersystem zu vereinfachen. Mittlerweile sind ja selbst linker Populismus à la Mindestlohn und Atomausstiegs-Harakiri in der FDP mehrheitsfähig.

Die aktuelle FDP ist kein Hafen des Liberalismus mehr. Das ist in diesen Zeiten, in denen einmal wieder dem Zentralismus, Sozialismus und Étatismus gehuldigt wird, besonders bitter. Deutschland braucht eine starke liberale Partei. Eine FDP, die die liberale Sache verrät und sie der Lächerlichkeit Preis gibt, braucht es nicht mehr.

Mit liberalen Grüßen

Euer Tim

I’m desperately hoping for a new liberal alternative to rise – and I’ll be the first to join in. Germany desperately needs it. Meanwhile, I’ll be happy to join the APO.

And then I found this great reflection of Milton Friedman, pretty old, but couldn’t be more up-to-date regards how central planning will always produce bad results:

Apart from movingly bringing across the values of the American Dream and what makes the US so special in terms of entrepreneurial mindset, the documentary will teach you some great facts. Here are three of the many things I learned about American history:

• The invention of wire-mesh fences by a smart farmer killed the cowboys (BTW: who’s job was not shooting around wildy , but rather driving cattle north to first railroads.)
• The rapid installation of the telegraphing network helped Lincoln win the Civil War
• 2007 one in eight (!) Americans was born abroad.

One of the interviewees makes a great statement: “We are an optimistic people. We believe the future is our friend”. Who would say this about Europe or Germany where innovation & change are both constantly being fought against instead of actively engaging and shaping the future.

Get it on iTunes here (you’ll need an US iTunes account, easy to set-up, just google it). It’s split into 12 45-min episodes, which makes it hard-working people friendly.

There is also a free sneak preview available or watch this American TV trailer I found on youtube (the sneak on iTunes is better though):

But that’s only the beginning. There’s much more to come in the next two years. Watch out.

I love the iPad. It’s just the right device rightly positioned between a full-functioning laptop and a mobile phone. But as it is with the first version of a new product line, the iPad has its flaws. Here is my personal TOP 3 of things the iPad is missing:

1. Multi-User Management

As much as it makes perfect sense to not have a multi-user management OS operating on the iPhone, it’s totally missing on the iPad. Each person in a household has a mobile phone, but I doubt that there will be more than one iPad per household. The iPad is located near the couch and is used by multiple people. That’s what the user interface should be designed for, but it isn’t. I’m really looking forward for the first stories of small children sending business e-mails with daddy’s iPad. Personally, I like friends visiting my home, but not so much that I need them to read my e-mail when I hand them the iPad to play around…

2. Over-the-Air File support

Since having seen this, I hate iTunes. Why do I have to plugin my iPad to my laptop (which is staying on my office desk, thanks to you iPad!) in order to sync my music? In order to sync my apps? I want them to automatically transfer to my iPad – OVER THE AIR. Just as Google promises. This might actually be a reason for me to swap to an Android-based tablet if Apple won’t follow suit.

3. Surprise, surprise: Flash & Full Website Support

There has been much debate about Apple and Adobe sharing their love over Flash support, so there’s not much to add. For an iPad user though, it just sucks to constantly come across the “please get the latest version of Adobe Flash” signs. It will be interesting to see how many sites will be optimizing for HTML5 (a nice example is ted.com) instead of flash. Added to this, many websites automatically redirect iPad users to their mobile sites. This happens just too often and webmasters and companies should become more wary about the situation. This morning nespresso.com just lost a 70 EUR-order from me, because I couldn’t change the shipping address on my iPad. Lucky bastards, their business model has locked me in and I’m addicted to coffee…

It’s been more than 8 years now that I joined Germany’s Free Democrats as a party member. And since I wasn’t born into the party, but deliberately chose it for its political views, I have been quite emotionally attached to it and am now shocked about the latest developments.

Back then, I was in school, fifteen years old and started getting interested in politics. I’ve always been a guy who wants to shape his future and as I was thinking that politics was affecting everyone’s life, mine as well, I’d better get engaged. Since my family wasn’t inclined to any special political side, I had a rather neutral view on the different parties and started to look around.

It was rather soon that I knew that Germany’s FDP was the only German party my beliefs could go hand-in-hand with. I’ve always valued hard work, tolerance, and respect for other people‘s way of life and the FDP is the only German liberal (in a European sense) party that charmingly combines free-market thinking and economic knowledge with an open and tolerant view on society. But it wasn’t only due to philosophical theory of Hayek and Friedman, I very actively engaged in the German election campaign in 2005 and tried to as strongly support the FDP’s prospects for government in 2009 as I could, but because I was – and am still convinced – that the FDP’s program is what Germany needs to get ready for the future.

Before the last election in September 2009, analyzing the recent government performances, everyone with little sense knew that Germany still hadn’t done most of its homework:

• Social security systems, especially healthcare and the retirement system, are nowhere near to cope with an ever-aging society; the red-green coalition with Agenda 2010 only managed to prevent its very short-term collapse
• German tax system is a horror with no financial incentive for low-income earners to do honest work
• In Germany educational success is very much dependent on a child’s parental background leaving massive numbers of young people mostly with immigration background uneducated and unemployable
• and many more, you name it.

The mandate for reform had been given

In autumn 2009, I had the feeling that Germany had understood that probably only a coalition of the conservative parties and the FDP could bring much-needed reforms to Germany. The average German was sick of the –only so-called- “grand coalition” of the two biggest parties which barely did anything, but enjoying their great BMW, Audis and Mercedes official cars. They didn’t govern; they were called the government, because someone had to and they could be.

On election evening, I had the great pleasure to attend the FDP’s official election party. And a party it was.  Scoring an all-time high of almost 15% of votes and bursting with confidence, the party’s bosses could go into negotiations with the conservatives to form a strong government with the intention to reform Germany and tackle the country’s structural problems. The mandate had been given and it was now up to personal leadership to get the job done.

Unfortunately, the first months of government have shown that the party’s leaders are not up for the job. The coalition’s agreement with regards to content was still a good one and one could see the liberal handwriting and the intention to get a job done. I could also live with the FDP people chosen for ministers. It had been clear that Guido Westerwelle would become foreign secretary and choosing young Philipp Rösler as health minister was a fresh start. It was weird, that Dirk Niebel became minister of economic cooperation and development – a job he had declared he wanted to get rid of after the election – but, hey, who cares if they get their job well done.

Westerwelle’s tries to show leadership have been rather helpless

Yet, that’s not what happened so far. The coalition agreement was still fresh, when not only the opposition (well, that’s the way democracy works), but also supposed to be conservative brothers-in-arms began attacking the political aims and agreements the coalition had made a few days ago. But who was there to defend it? Noone showed real sign of defending the aim of reform. Neither has Merkel shown any sign of leadership and Westerwelle’s tries to do so have been rather helpless.

Germany needs reforms and the political aims of the coalition agreement show into the right direction. The question is: Is there anybody still following the agreement? I don’t have the feeling. The conservatives more or less openly mourn about the happy days of the grand coalition and the FDP is lacking political leadership and someone to bang one’s fist on the table and say: “That’s not what we have been elected for!”

Instead, the liberal MPs are extremely unlucky (to say it nicely) in showing that they even matter. It’s not out of blue that following the latest politbarometer trend only 3% of Germany would cast their vote for the FDP. That’s not even half of what’s considered their hardcore voter base! And the handling of the Greek crisis perfectly shows us why:

The 750bn EUR bailout bill and the discussion about the taxing financial markets have considerably shocked the liberals’ voter base. Who if not them would follow economic reason? But instead of listening to the party’s financial experts Frank Schäffler (btw: the until-then party’s guy in the Bundestag financial commission) and Hermann-Otto Solms (btw: the guy who was supposed to be finance minister), 91 of 93 liberal Bundestag MPs quietly voted for the bill. Who wonders that the party’s base is freaking out? I encourage you to read the comments posted under Volker Wissings “reasons why I supported the bill”. “You should rename your blog from 93 liberals to 2 liberals and 91 socialists” is still one of the nicest comments. Instead of reasonably arguing against the bill and going for an alternative solution than skipping the No-Bailout-Clause and creating a European transfer union (read Otto Solms reasons why he didn’t support the bill), the party joins in the European demagogue chorus of shouting out loud for a worldwide Tobin tax and supporting populist measures as banning short-selling even the French consider unhelpful. Such dishonest politics, calling for “making the markets pay” and on the other hand rescuing their ass by buying their toxic assets through the ECB, might work for left-leaning parties, but not for the FDP. I am convinced that this Greek crises and the FDP’s ridiculous behavior will haunt the party for the next years to come.

If it can’t be done with Mrs Merkel, then there’s no reason for the FDP to stay in this coalition

But even without the Greek crises the “bourgeois” government looks doomed. The current government is nowhere near living up to its expectations of getting Germany ready for the future. There is no sign of a leader to show the way to go – neither in the coalition government, nor in the FDP where one is even more desperately needed. The FDP needs someone to speak up. To the party, to the public and to the coalition. Germany doesn’t need just another social democratic party. And Germany doesn’t need just another party that joins the chorus of paving the way for even more state regulation. Instead, the FDP should honor its voters, who have elected them to get Germany back on the right side of the road. To free people to do their jobs and live their lives the way they want. And to conduct sensible economics. If this can’t be done with Mrs Merkel, then there’s no reason for the FDP to stay in this coalition. There’s just nothing to win for the party, only defeat as recent elections have clearly shown. Much damage has already been done, but it’s not too late. Sticking to its words has made the party strong over the last years. And it’s the only way of getting back on track: Doing honest politics and sticking to one’s word. Unfortunately, the FDP is currently betraying its very own principles that have made it so strong. Thanks to Mrs Merkel and missing leadership in the FDP. If this coalition isn’t to end in total defeat for the FDP, someone has to speak up. But whom?

As for now, it’s just all bad luck for Germany and Europe. Let’s hope it won’t be too late when Mrs Merkel and Mr. Westerwelle will be followed by more powerful political leaders who will not be satisfied with a side note in future German history books. Or, can they still turn the tide? I’m rather skeptical, but would be more than happy to see a surprising turnaround.

(When I finished this blog post, I discovered this FAZ article stressing the same points I just did. Definitely worth reading if you understand German.)

“Es kann nicht der Anspruch sein von der WHU und allen Studenten, die hier hinkommen, die zu der Top-Elite Deutschlands gehören, und man sich ausschließlich Gedanken macht, was kopiere ich jetzt. Dafür ist das Potential hier zu groß, dafür ist der IQ hier viel zu groß und dafür sollte der Anspruch, von allen die hier auf dem IdeaLab! sind größer sein.”

Und wie finde ich denn meine Idee? Besser als Malte Brettel kann man es nicht formulieren:

“Man muss den Drive haben es wirklich zu machen, sich nicht beirren lassen und dann auch wirklich im Dreck wühlen. Wenn man zuviel drüber nachdenkt und nicht einfach einmal rausgeht und es ausprobiert, macht man einen großen Fehler.”

Ganz meiner Meinung: Die meisten Leute werden nicht Unternehmer, weil sie keine Ideen haben, sondern weil sie nicht den Drive haben und den Mut sich aus ihrer Comfort Zone herauszubegeben.
Was die beiden auch ansprechen: Augen offen halten und Makrotrends beobachten. So sind wir damals auch auf die Idee zu kaufDA gekommen.
Also: get your hands dirty und bloß nicht Lemming sein!

Mein Wunsch zur Bundestagswahl lautet wie folgt:

Ich wünsche mir, dass in Deutschland nach der Wahl wieder mehr Politik für die Fleißigen gemacht wird. Mit einfachen Regeln, die jeder versteht. Für fleißige Arbeiter, für fleißige Studenten, für fleißige Beamte, für fleißige Angstelle und für fleißige Unternehmer. Für diejenigen, die den „Karren“ Deutschland ziehen. Wie viel kreatives unternehmerisches Potential könnte in Deutschland dann freigesetzt werden!

Hier gehts zum vollständigen Magazin mit dem Artikel auf Seite 12.

“Ein Unternehmen zu gründen ist, wie auf einer einsamen Insel zu stranden”, schreibt er auf seiner persönlichen Internetseite. Williams zählt in diesem “Blog” Parallelen auf: Man hat erst einmal keine Ahnung, wie groß die Insel ist oder welche Raubtiere es geben könnte. Man hat nur eine bestimmte Menge an Proviant mit sich, die reichen muss, bis man sich selbst versorgen kann. Jemand kann kommen, um die Insel zu erobern. Aber wenn man denn irgendwann erfolgreich ist, dann ist man der König in seiner eigenen gedeihenden Welt. Und wenn nicht, dann stirbt man eben – oder muss nach Hause gehen. “Wie dem auch sei, es ist ein Abenteuer, das Spaß macht”, resümiert Williams.”

via FAZ