A senior member of Germany's Free Democratic Party (FDP) resigned on Friday following a controversy over an internal document that discussed how his party could leave the country's governing coalition.
Bijan Djir-Sarai, the FDP's general secretary, announced his resignation after acknowledging that he had misled the public.
The document entitled, 'D-Day process scenario and measures' was created by a lower-level FDP official. It outlined the steps the party could take to exit the coalition, including a reference to an 'open battle' with other members of the government.
The 'D-Day' title of the document, which referred to the 1944 Allied invasion of Normandy against German forces during WW2, has caused an uproar within the party and beyond amid growing tensions over the breakup of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition government.
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In a statement, Djir-Sarai said he was stepping down to take responsibility for the controversy, which he said had damaged his credibility and that of the Free Democrats.
"This was my mistake, and I apologize," Djir-Sarai said.
The timing of the resignation is crucial, because the Free Democrats are already facing a challenging political landscape.
With federal elections looming, the FDP is struggling in the polls, with projections suggesting it may fall below the five percent threshold needed to maintain parliamentary representation.
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The internal strife is expected to complicate the party's campaign while it prepares for a February election.
The controversy stems from a series of events that began on Nov. 6, when Scholz fired Free Democrats leader Christian Lindner as finance minister amid a growing rift within the coalition over Germany's economic policies.
The Free Democrats' departure from the government left Scholz without a parliamentary majority, forcing him to seek a confidence vote in the Bundestag on Dec. 16.
Scholz is widely expected to lose the vote, paving the way for the Feb. 23 election.
The internal document, which was first reported by German media on Nov. 18, was initially denied by Djir-Sarai.
At the time, he stated that the term 'D-Day' had not been used in the document.
However, a week later, the FDP released the full document, which confirmed the 'D-Day' reference and included a plan for communicating the party's potential exit from the coalition.
Djir-Sarai clarified that he had been unaware of the document's contents when he previously denied its existence.
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The revelation sparked criticism within the FDP, with some members accusing the party of undermining the coalition at a critical time.
Carsten Reymann, the lower-ranking official who drafted the document, also resigned following the controversy.
Matthias Miersch, general secretary of the Social Democrats (SPD), the largest party in Scholz's coalition, suggested that Djir-Sarai's resignation was intended to deflect blame from Lindner.
Miersch questioned the role that Lindner himself had played in the document's creation and the broader plans for the FDP's exit from the government.
As the situation unfolds, the FDP faces increasing pressure to restore its credibility ahead of the election.
With Germany's political landscape in flux, the fallout from the internal document could have lasting consequences for the Free Democrats' future in the country's Parliament.
This article contains additional reporting from The Associated Press
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