Overview

• SPD leader Lars Klingbeil formally invited Volker Wissing, the independent Transport Minister, to join the party, emphasizing his alignment with social-liberal principles.
• Wissing left the FDP in late 2024 to remain in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s government following the collapse of the traffic-light coalition.
• Klingbeil highlighted Wissing’s past collaboration with former Rhineland-Palatinate Minister-President Malu Dreyer and described him as a 'stability guarantor.'
• Wissing criticized FDP leader Christian Lindner for orchestrating the coalition’s collapse, citing concerns over the FDP’s political positioning.
• While Wissing has not committed to joining the SPD, he has left open the possibility of affiliating with a political party in the future.