A senior leader of Germany's Free Democrats (FDP) resigned unexpectedly on Wednesday in the latest sign of turmoil in the party that shares power with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats (CDU).

Christian Lindner, general secretary of the beleaguered FDP and a rising star who many wanted to see take over as chairman, stepped down in a move which appeared to be linked to the poor turnout in a party referendum on euro zone rescue moves.

"There comes a time when you have to make room to allow for a new dynamic," said Lindner, adding: "The events in recent weeks and days have strengthened my belief that this is the case."

The "new dynamic" Lindner was referring to concerns the party's chairman, Phillipp Rösler, who has had a particularly difficult time charting the FDP's course since taking over earlier this year.

Within political circles, Lindner's surprise exit has been interpreted as a desperate attempt to save the party, with the parliamentary speaker of the main opposition center-left Social Democrats, Thomas Oppermann, stating outright that Lindner was a "fall guy" for Rösler.

Lindner (left) has already been called a "fall guy" for Rösler (center)

Party in trouble

The resignation also points, however, to deep splits in the party over whether to support Merkel's efforts to shore up weak eurozone members, and could destabilize her coalition if these widen.

"He lost his nerve," a senior FDP official told Reuters when asked about Lindner's move. Lindner, 32, had responsibility for organizing the referendum which was forced upon the party leadership by a group of euroskeptics within the FDP.

Lindner's departure is the latest setback for the FDP, a pro-business party whose support has fallen to just 3 percent in opinion polls after it won a record near-15 percent in the 2009 election, helping Merkel secure a second term.

Disgruntled that the FDP leadership was supporting Merkel's euro rescue policy, euroskeptics led by lawmaker Frank Schaeffler led a campaign in recent months to collect signatures within the party for the referendum, which is non-binding.

The referendum, the results of which are expected to be published this week, is unlikely to pass because the required quorum of FDP members is not expected to be reached.

The party has been in disarray amid internal bickering and a series of humiliating electoral setbacks. In seven regional elections in 2011, the FDP has been embarrassingly shut out of the state parliament in five.

The Berlin state election in September, in which the FDP came nowhere near clearing the five-percent hurdle to win a seat, saw it overtaken by the "upstart" Pirate Party, which won its first ever seats in a German state parliament.

Successor named

Lindner's successor is to be the party's present treasurer, Patrick Döring.

Announcing the nomination, party chairman Rösler said the 38-year-old Döring would be able to "remobilize" the FDP's grass roots and "restore the campaigning ability of party headquarters."

Döring said he would approach his new task with "great seriousness and great ambition."

Author: Gabriel Borrud (dpa, Reuters, AFP)

Editor: Michael Lawton