January 19, 2009: Headlines like "Nothing happens anymore without the FDP" or "Merkel and Westerwelle forge alliance" highlighted the success of Germany's liberal "Free Democratic Party" (FDP) in yesterday's state election in Hessen. Voters went to the polls only one year after last year's regularly scheduled election which left a caretaker government holding on to power and no coalition of parties having enough votes to unseat the incumbent governor, Roland Koch. With 37.2 percent of the vote, Koch's "Christian Democratic Union" achieved only negligible gains in yesterday's balloting, but the FDP gained nearly 7 percent and finshed with 16.3 percent of the total votes cast. (In Germany political parties are allowed representation in state parliaments and the Bundestag if they win at least 5 percent of the popular vote.) Prior to the Hessen election the CDU and FDP announced their intention to become coalition partners if successful, and yesterday's results assure them of a comfortable majority in the state legislature.

The Hessen election was the first of four state elections this year prior to the national election scheduled for September 27. Even though the CDU is currently still part a national coalition government with its traditional opponent, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the CDU and FDP have already indicated that they would also like to be partners in forming Germany's next national government following the September election. Recent opinion polls give them the lead, and yesterday's result in Hessen may be a signal that the FDP will once again be part of the ruling coalition in Berlin. If that happens, current chancellor Angela Merkel would be reelected by the Bundestag for a second term in office. As the junior member of the coalition, the FDP would determine Germany's next Foreign Minister, and that would be its party chairman, Guido Westerwelle.

It is no secret that Guido Westerwelle wants to be Germany's next foreign minister. In a recent interview with the German weekly "Stern" he confirmed his ambitions in a rambling interview. "If I thought I was incapable of occupying the office [of foreign minister], I should not have become FDP party chairman," Westerwelle told reporters. What kind of foreign minister would Westerwelle be? The biggest difference between him and his predecessors would be that Westerwelle would be the first professing homosexual to occupy Germany's second highest political office (foreign ministers are traditionally also the vice-chancellor of Germany's national government). Westerwelle sees no problems arising because of his orientation: "The vast majority of our people have no problem whatsoever with my private life. By the way, it would be good for our foreign policy to transfer this spirit of German tolerance to other countries."

When the reporter conducting the interview remarked that some countries weren't interested in Westerwelle's view of tolerance, the FDP party chairman replied: "We do not have to accept that. For example, I am against giving foreign ad paid for by [German] taxpayers to countries where women are treated as second class citizens and mistreated or to countries where men and women are executed just because they are homosexuals. German foreign policy and foreign aid must also include promoting the value of personal freedom."

Westerwelle may have some difficulty promoting his views on tolerance toward homosexuals in Muslim countries. However, he foresees no problems interacting with world leaders, including those from the Muslim world: "In recent years I have had so many talks with outstanding people all over the world, and you can believe me that it never mattered that I as a man have a relationship with a man."