Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) – The chairman of the North Rhine-Westphalian FDP parliamentary group Henning Höne is determined to reach for the state party chairmanship despite resistance. The 35-year-old from Münster said on Wednesday in Düsseldorf that he was active in the branches of the regional association, which has around 20,000 members, and would apply for the chair at the party conference in Bielefeld on January 21.
The incumbent state chairman Joachim Stamp had already drawn the necessary conclusions from the crushing defeat of the Liberals in the NRW state elections in the summer and announced his withdrawal at the upcoming party conference. Regarding internal party reservations in the FDP youth against a possible successor Höne, the parliamentary group leader said: “A youth organization that is not uncomfortable is not a proper youth organization.” He comes “from the shop himself” and knows that from experience.
After the lost state elections, in which the FDP had lost government participation, Höne was elected chairman of the only twelve-member FDP state parliamentary group. He is an industrial clerk and studied business administration, is married and has had a son since last year. Höne was state chairman of the Young Liberals from 2010 to 2013. He has been a member of the state parliament for ten years.
