For all his contrition, Dürr told journalists that he and Secretary-General Nicole Büttner will both run for re-election at a party conference in May, where a new leader will be chosen. “I have already read in some media reports that the FDP leadership and I are giving up. I have no intention of giving up,” Dürr said.
At a Monday party meeting Dürr offered to submit to a confidence vote by the party’s executive board, but the board declined. A new 40-member board will also be elected at the May conference.
Dürr was elected to the FDP leadership in May 2025, succeeding long-time leader and former federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner.
Germany holds five state elections in 2026, with Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania going to the polls in September.