Lindner is a car enthusiast and is known for driving a vintage Porsche. He served as finance minister for three years in the troubled three-party coalition government of previous Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which collapsed in late 2024, leading to an election.
Lindner’s pro-business and car-friendly FDP crashed out in that election, failing to garner the 5 percent of votes required to secure seats in the German parliament. The ailing liberals have failed to make the 5 percent threshold in the every state election since then.
While Lindner was mostly off the grid in the months after the government collapse, he has made several media appearances since last fall.