BERLIN (MNI) – Germany’s FDP, the junior partner in the coalition
with Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU, believes that a referendum by
party members on the future European Stability Mechanism (ESM) might
fail due to low turnout, German weekly Frankfurter Allgemeine
Sonntagszeitung (FAS) reported at the weekend, citing party sources.
According to FAS, by Friday, only 13,496 of the FDP’s 65,000
members had voted in the referendum which ends on December 13. In order
for the referendum to be valid, at least one third of all party members
need to participate.
The referendum has been initiated by party rebels who want to
prevent the party from voting for the ESM in parliament. The party
leadership has put forward a rival motion in support of the ESM.
FDP parliamentary leader Rainer Bruederle told German daily Der
Tagesspiegel in an interview published Sunday that the believes that the
motion of the party leadership will win “a clear majority” of the party
membership.
Yet, regardless of the outcome of the referendum, the FDP
parliamentarians are not bound by it, Bruederle stressed. He reminded
that under Germany’s constitution each parliamentarian is free in his
decisions and not bound by party orders.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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