The FDP (Free Democratic Party) had to deal with significant disruptions to their Internet connection during their state party conference in Heidenheim on Saturday. The WLAN in the Congress Center hall did not work over long distances and the live stream was temporarily interrupted. This issue is not new for the FDP, as they have faced similar problems with Internet connections in previous conferences. For example, delegates and guests had trouble logging into the event in Fellbach in January, and there were disruptions to WiFi and live streams at the 2022 Small Party Congress in Bad Mergentheim.
At the Heidenheim conference, the state party leadership was confirmed, but there was a decrease in votes even without opposing candidates. State chairman Michael Theurer was re-elected with 78.2% of the votes, compared to 88.1% in the previous election. Secretary General Judith Skudelny, who received 83.3% of the delegate votes before, only received 67.7% this time. Theurer, who is also a State Secretary in the Ministry of Transport, blamed the Internet problems for his lower performance.
State Managing Director Julian Schröder denied responsibility for the technical problems and stated that everything had been done to prevent another breakdown in Heidenheim. They even paid a lot of money for a backup line. Schröder attributed the issues to the hall itself. Secretary General Skudelny shared a picture of FDP leader Lindner, who had referred to problems as “thorny opportunities.” Skudelny mentioned that the cause of the internet issues was found in the aging hardware, which had deteriorated at twice the normal rate. She expressed her frustration, saying, “We had two lines, two lines that were supposed to guarantee and secure the Internet, and then the router kicked us in the ass – so honestly!”
The south-west CDU (Christian Democratic Union), which is often targeted by the FDP opposition in the state parliament, used this technical mishap to take a swipe at the FDP. State Secretary General Isabell Huber commented, “Aspirations and reality at the FDP: They call themselves a digitization party, and then the WiFi doesn’t even work at the party congress – again. Also symptomatic: the others are to blame, of course. The FDP has been saying for a long time: I’ll do it my way and see the world as I like it.”
