FDP elects new leader - Schniebel wants to reposition party

The Saxon FDP has a new leader: Matthias Schniebel from the Bautzen district association was elected as the new state party chairman at the state party conference. In his candidacy speech, the 52-year-old announced his intention to reorganize his party. He wants to ensure that the FDP is once again a force to be reckoned with in the 2029 state elections in Saxony.

Schniebel was previously deputy state chairman. In the second round of voting, he narrowly beat his only competitor Stephan Mielsch, district chairman of the FDP in the Leipzig district (95 votes to 91). Schniebel replaces Anita Maaß, who led the Saxon FDP from 2021. The new Secretary General is Toralf Einsle, also from the Bautzen district association.

The FDP has not been represented in the Saxon state parliament since 2014. In last year's state election, it reached a historic low of just 0.9 percent. Just under six months later in the federal election, the Free Democrats achieved 3.2 percent in Saxony. Nationwide, the party missed the five percent hurdle and is therefore no longer represented in the Bundestag.