1. Brief Introduction – Tobias Schnippering
Candidate for FDP Norderney in the 2026 local elections
I was born in Cuxhaven in 1985 and have lived on Norderney since 2014. Today, I work as an independent financial services consultant and property manager; privately, I am a husband and father of one son. After secondary school, I began an apprenticeship as an industrial mechanic in 2002. Even during my apprenticeship, I was involved in the youth and apprentice representation of my training company, and later in the overall youth and apprentice representation across all of the group’s plants in Germany. For seven years, I was a member of IG Metall and actively involved in the local youth committee in Bremerhaven, a period that shaped my understanding of responsibility and advocacy early on. In 2003, I simultaneously started as a part-time insurance agent. After military service in 2006, I continued full-time as a team leader in the insurance sector with my own agency. This was followed by a change of company to a position in IT and technically supported sales training. An exciting interim step was then site acquisition in the wind energy sector: as a local contact person, it was always about reconciling the interests of the company, the affected municipality, and its citizens, an experience that still shapes me today.
In 2014, my path led me to the island of Norderney, with the planned gradual takeover of an existing insurance agency. In 2018, I simultaneously built up my own property management business. The financial flexibility this second pillar gave me enabled me to take the decisive step in 2022: full independence as an insurance broker. Since then, I have represented the interests of my clients across the entire market, no longer bound by instructions to represent the interests of a single company to the client. I am currently continuing my professional development part-time as a Certified Financial Advisor (IHK), as the next logical step, in addition to my existing qualifications as a certified specialist for retirement planning (FH) and financial services consultant (IHK).
On Norderney, I met my wife, with whom I am raising our son – for me, the most beautiful part of every day. I volunteer for the Lions Club, the DLRG, and the fire department, though currently somewhat reduced due to professional commitments. Family comes first for me; otherwise, you can find me on the golf course or at the keyboard and guitar.
2. Either/Or Questions
Amy Winehouse or Shakira? Amy Winehouse
Dog or cat? Dog
In winter: mountains or sea? Sea
Bathtub or shower? Bathtub
Wacken or Semperoper? Why ‘or’?
Fish/Vegan or meat? Meat
Apple or Android? Apple
Westerly wind or easterly wind? Westerly wind
Window or aisle? Window
Early bird or night owl? Night owl
Evening gown/suit or sweatpants? Suit
Fish sandwich or croissant? Fish sandwich
Sweet or salty popcorn? Sweet popcorn
E-bike or classic bicycle? My head says classic, my heart wants an e-bike
Summertime or White Sands? Summertime
West Beach or Weiße Düne? Weiße Düne
Book or podcast? Book
3. Interview: “Preserving our Island’s Cycle”
FDP Norderney: Tobias, please introduce yourself briefly.
Tobias Schnippering: I live on Norderney with my wife and our son and work independently as an insurance broker and property manager. Through my profession, I experience firsthand how strongly political decisions impact us, for example, when new development plans or regulations suddenly decide on property, rentals, or the entrepreneurial freedom of businesses on the island. Municipal political work is not new territory for me; I was already a member of the Norderney City Council and know the processes from my own experience.
FDP Norderney: Why do you want to take on responsibility again?
Tobias Schnippering: Because I want my son to find a beautiful, economically strong island here later, where he can live and start a family himself if he wishes. This requires a clear direction for where the island should stand in the future, and I currently miss that, which is also reflected in many conversations with locals, property owners, and guests. Instead, individual decisions are often made without considering them in context; sometimes, details taken by themselves make no sense if the bigger picture is not considered.
This is precisely where I want to start and help ensure that clarity is restored, because only with a clear direction can sustainably valuable decisions be made. I also bring this holistic perspective from my profession; I see daily how individual regulations affect property owners, tenants, and businesses.
FDP Norderney: You speak of the “island’s cycle.” What do you mean by that?
Tobias Schnippering: Tourism, economy, housing, and quality of life are directly linked. If guests perceive Norderney as an attractive holiday destination and feel comfortable here, they secure jobs and create economic prospects. This enables people on the island to find affordable housing, live here, start families, and contribute long-term. A strong community, in turn, secures kindergartens, schools, clubs, medical care, and infrastructure. Retail, gastronomy, crafts, and many other businesses benefit from this, and they ensure that Norderney remains attractive for our guests. Then the cycle begins anew.
FDP Norderney: What role do development plans play in this?
Tobias Schnippering: Development plans should enable reasonable development and reconcile different interests. It becomes problematic when they are predominantly used to create new restrictions and prohibitions.
When existing uses are questioned, investments are prevented, or changes to buildings are unnecessarily complicated, uncertainty arises. This affects not only property owners. Ultimately, such decisions impact businesses, jobs, housing, and thus the entire cycle of our island.
FDP Norderney: Aren’t tourism and housing necessarily in competition with each other?
Tobias Schnippering: No, we need both. Of course, we urgently need affordable and suitable housing for locals, employees, and families. But we must not believe that housing automatically arises by generally restricting tourist use.
Instead, we need targeted solutions, new housing projects, and reliable framework conditions. Because weakening tourism also jeopardizes the economic power with which we can finance housing construction, medical care, and infrastructure in the first place.
FDP Norderney: What specifically should change?
Tobias Schnippering: Politics and administration must measure every decision by its impact on the island’s cycle, not just on a single regulatory goal.
A current example is the newly published development plans: Here, I see the danger that existing, lawful uses will be retrospectively questioned instead of creating legal certainty. Specifically, for me, this means: fewer blanket prohibitions, more legal certainty for property owners, and reliable protection of existing uses. Property owners and businesses must be able to invest and modernize their buildings.
And we need concrete concepts for new permanent housing, instead of just the announcement that housing should be created. It’s not about either/or, but about solutions that do justice to the special conditions of our island.
FDP Norderney: Why is the FDP the right political home for you?
Tobias Schnippering: Because the FDP stands for freedom, personal responsibility, property, economic reason, and solution-oriented politics – values that I know from my own professional life. As a self-employed person, I bear responsibility for my decisions daily, without anyone dictating how I should make them. It is precisely this trust in the freedom and personal responsibility of the individual that I also wish for the island: enabling development instead of blocking it with ever-new regulations. For me, the liberal idea is more than a political position; it is the conviction that people who are free to decide will ultimately find the best solutions for themselves, their families, and their island, not the state for them. This is exactly what I want to bring to the council’s work: jointly finding practical solutions instead of dictating how people should live and conduct business.
FDP Norderney: What would you like to convey to the voters?
Tobias Schnippering: Every political decision affects several areas of our island. Therefore, we must consider tourism, economy, housing, and quality of life together, not as separate issues. I want to contribute my professional and political experience so that Norderney remains a livable home and an attractive holiday destination, for us and for our children.
This requires a strong FDP that looks closely and has the courage to take a clear stance, even against ever-new prohibitions. I ask for your trust and your vote so that we can tackle this together.
