FDP parliamentary group deputy Carina Konrad: People need motorways

Ms. Konrad, on Sunday, the traffic light finally wants to clarify its biggest issues, in the coalition committee. Where does the FDP want to accommodate the Greens?

Friederike Haupt

Political correspondent in Berlin.

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The aim must be to achieve reasonable results. And the question that citizens ask me is not "Who has to accommodate whom?", but "How do we find good solutions that bring the country forward?"

Everyone wants good solutions. But the Greens do not like what the FDP thinks is good. Her parliamentary colleague Reinhard Houben has just warned that all those involved should critically question their actions, including the FDP. Have the liberals been too irreconcilable?

The SPD, FDP and Greens are very different parties in their approaches and their view of the world. It is precisely from these different perspectives that very good solutions can be found for the country, and we have already succeeded in doing so in many areas. It is in this spirit that we should speak at the weekend, then we will find good results.

You yourself recently accused the Green Economics Minister Habeck of being defiant, alienating citizens and working with a crowbar. Not exactly constructive.

My impression is that there is a great deal of pressure from the Greens at the moment, especially on Minister Habeck. That may explain some of what he says and does. In the end, however, what counts is that we talk about topics, such as accelerating planning.

Here, too, the Greens and FDP still insist on their positions: The FDP wants motorways to be built faster, the Greens are against it.

Last year, 3.7 billion tonnes of goods were transported via the motorway in Germany, ten times as much as by rail. There are good reasons why we want to transport more by rail. But even if the tonnage by rail were to double, which is completely unrealistic at the moment, many goods will still have to be transported by road. That is why it is important to speed up the construction of all modes of transport.

In other words, the solution you have in mind is for the Greens to realise that the FDP is right.

Yes, that's the case in this case.

Could be difficult.

People need the motorways in their everyday lives. I live in rural areas. Here we need the road to get from A to B. In addition, consumer behaviour is changing. We order much more, which we have delivered. Traffic forecasts say that transport and delivery traffic in particular will increase enormously. I understand the perspective with which the Greens are approaching the matter, but it does not correspond to the reality of life of the people in our country. And if we really want to take climate protection seriously, we have to reduce congestion times and become faster. On the rails, but also on the road.

Since you are talking about climate protection: The Greens criticize FDP Transport Minister Volker Wissing for not taking it seriously. They are calling on him to present an immediate programme, as his portfolio is doing worse on climate than it should. Is this a point on which the FDP would make compromises?

The harsh criticism levelled at Minister Wissing is completely inappropriate. No one has initiated as many reforms in such a short time as he has. For example, the Deutschlandticket. This is a very important building block for a sensible transport policy. For the expansion of the infrastructure, however, we also need reliable enough electricity. This has to be solved on another construction site. It is important that we enable climate protection without prohibiting people from mobility. Giving people the feeling that they are being left behind because they may live in remote regions of our country is doing our political cohesion a disservice. This is also the reason why we want to ensure that cars with combustion engines can be refuelled with climate-neutral fuels, i.e. e-fuels. Because these cars are still on our roads in large numbers, and if it is up to me, it can stay that way.

Could it be that the FDP's ideas on mobility simply do not convince Germans? In surveys, they stand at around six percent.

It's not surveys that count, it's the result. And that you follow a clear course. I am firmly convinced that this will bring the FDP a good result. That is why polls do not make me nervous, and the Greens should not give too much attention to them. Then we would now achieve better results more quickly.

Do you still like to govern together with the Greens?

I am firmly convinced that a government alliance with the participation of the FDP will bring our country forward, and that's why I try to make a contribution every day. I feel comfortable in the coalition.