We wanted to show presence and make it clear: The FDP is close to the people. Our motto was: "We listen and align our politics according to what the population really wants." I like to divide politics into two tasks: Serving and leading. "Serving" in this case means listening carefully and implementing what people expect.

Of course, you pick up on a lot. In meetings and committees, everyone brings in what they hear at the regulars' table, in clubs, or in authorities. So far, so good. You read the newspaper, look at the reactions - but let's be honest: you're always moving a bit within your own "political bubble."

Absolutely. For me, it was an extremely valuable "rebalancing" of our knowledge. Brand new ideas didn't come - we didn't expect that either. It would be almost shocking if we were suddenly completely surprised in our role. But the tool showed us crystal clear what currently resonates and what doesn't.

Andreas from BrainE4 warned us that our own theses often end up far behind. With us, they did fall back a bit, but not dramatically. I found that positive. The main benefit for the election campaign, however, are the top 15 to 20 statements. That's our core message. This prioritization is worth gold to us.

Exactly. A nice side effect: The competition from the Center Party conducted a classic "SurveyMonkey" survey at the same time. We came around the corner with BrainE4 a week later - and literally "blew them away."

We showed that we operate more professionally. No one asked about the costs, but the external impact was clear: BrainE4 plays in a different league than Survey Monkey.

We have to properly sell the results internally. I tell people: "Read this report! Let it melt on your tongue. It's as if you spent 100 hours at the regulars' table - and here you get the essence served on a few pages." As a politician, you have to feel what people want, otherwise you can neither serve nor lead. What I got here as food for the candidates is enormously efficient and versatile.

Right. The communiqué to the public only contained the rough assessment. The details go only to the party leadership and the candidates. You must not forget: This was a lot of money for us. We even canceled a planned poster campaign for it. The expectations were correspondingly high.

Let me put it this way: I was disappointed in one point, but that was more than compensated for by something else. We had expected more participants. It's damn hard work to get people to take the time for such a dialogue.

The result. On one hand, the opinions of the people, which are extremely exciting to read. But the real bombshell was the final analysis from BrainE4, the management summary. The quality and substance of the action recommendations were top-notch. That was first-class consulting. My expectations were far exceeded. The overall package is just right.

It was on my to-do list daily. Every two or three days, I dove deep into it. It was fascinating to see how ideas develop or solidify. At some point, even political opponents started to sprinkle in extremely left-wing theses to disrupt our online dialogue.

No, the community handled it. These ideas disappeared without a trace in the back ranks.

The 15 to 20 core topics that are now established are central for us. They reflect our liberal values but are broad enough so that each candidate can pick the topics that suit them or their municipality.

Actually only ourselves! (laughs). Seriously: All other cantonal sections of the FDP.

I've been in party politics for a long time, but this was a life-changing experience for me. Honestly: I've never done anything this cool in this form before.