As Digital and Transport Minister, Volker Wissing is constantly criticized for a lack of progress. With the approval of the Bundestag for the Germany-wide 49-euro ticket for local and regional public transport, the FDP man has now achieved a success.

If the uniform ticket clears the last minor hurdles, Wissing will have the first proof of his promise that Germany can be "modern, digital and simple" from May onwards. For frequent drivers, public transport is also sometimes enormously cheaper, especially when it comes to tariff limits. Other users should be convinced by the convenience of being spontaneously mobile everywhere.

So the ticket has the potential to become popular. Whether the FDP benefits from this is less certain. For the start, their Federal Minister of Finance has indeed loosened money, but the states actually responsible for public transport will not be satisfied with that.

They will blackmail the federal government with the threat of increasing the attractive ticket price if the subsidies do not increase. If the FDP maintains budgetary discipline at the federal level, it is likely to feel the wrath of commuters.