Aiwanger and Corona: The Unvaccinated

Bavaria’s deputy head of government Aiwanger currently does not want a corona vaccination and claims it is a private matter. This threatens to become an increasing problem for the Söder government before the general election.

There were also clear words for election campaign conditions that CSU General Secretary Markus Blume addressed to Hubert Aiwanger this week. He found his statements “quite disturbing,” said Blume on the sidelines of the CSU retreat in Seeon. “Anyone who compares corona vaccinations with apartheid politics makes unacceptable comparisons.” Aiwanger should “preserve the dignity of the office as deputy prime minister”.

Apartheid? Vaccinate? Sequentially. Blum’s ruffle for Aiwanger, party leader of the Free Voters and thus the CSU coalition partner in Bavaria, is the next chapter in an increasingly heated debate. At the beginning of May was after one BR-Inquiry has become known that Bavaria’s Minister of Economic Affairs Aiwanger is the only one in Prime Minister Markus Söder’s cabinet waiting for the corona vaccination. Aiwanger argued that he was letting the vaccination “come upon him”. He is not a vaccination opponent, but also not a “vaccination euphoric”.

CSU at first relaxed, then irritated

The CSU reacted calmly at first: If someone had concerns, “you have to respect that with a deputy prime minister as you do with any other citizen,” said state parliamentary group leader Thomas Kreuzer at the time. At the end of June, however, Söder publicly called on all MPs and “every member of the cabinet” to have a corona vaccination – even those “who are not yet convinced”. Everyone knew who was meant.

A day later, Söder urged his Vice Aiwanger in front of the cameras to explain himself: “Maybe you can just say something about why you don’t want to be vaccinated.” It was a personal decision, replied Aiwanger and warned against public pressure. The Free Voters rated Söder’s actions as a political foul, but were able to observe a surprising side effect: nationwide, numerous users showed solidarity with the minister in social networks, and the hashtag #IchBinAiwanger was now number one among the Twitter trends.

Söder: “Vaccination is the way to freedom”

Since then, a public dispute about vaccination has risen within the Bavarian government coalition, which has long since taken on fundamental features. Vaccination is a private matter, emphasized Aiwanger. Vaccination is not a private matter, but also protects others, said Söder. “To recommend vaccination does not mean having to vaccinate,” argued Aiwanger. “Vaccination is the way to freedom”, announced Söder – and promised more “freedom” for those vaccinated, such as the opening of discos and clubs. Aiwanger promptly announced resistance to efforts to only allow vaccinated people to enter certain areas of public life. Otherwise a two-class society threatens: “We have to be careful not to get into an apartheid discussion.”

Greens criticize “derailment”

The reference to the former racist regime in South Africa caused sharp criticism from all parties. The Greens spoke of a “derailment” and a “defamatory comparison of aluminum hats” by an SPD member. Aiwanger sees no reason to withdraw his statement: he merely warned against getting into such a discussion. People in the CSU are annoyed: While Prime Minister Söder presented an expanded vaccination concept and tirelessly promotes immunization, his deputy makes headlines with skepticism about vaccinations.

The speculation that Aiwanger’s positioning could also be about election campaigns was fueled by the free voter boss himself: After initial reluctance, he is increasingly presenting himself as an advocate of those people who hesitate about the corona vaccination. He wanted to “put himself up front” and warn against a split in society, he told the “Bild” newspaper. In the Munich press club he spoke on Thursday of “understanding for the currently 20 to 30 percent who have not yet been vaccinated”. These should not automatically be placed in the denial and conspiratorial corner.

Aiwanger – government and opposition

At the same time, the vaccination episode also tells a lot about Aiwanger himself. The trained farmer from Lower Bavaria, whom the “FAZ” once dubbed the “Bavarian Bavarian”, can be clever – and stubborn. During the corona pandemic, he was often a member of the government and the opposition at the same time, calling for schools and ski lifts, shops and restaurants to be opened – contrary to Söder’s mantra “caution and prudence”. In March 2020, Aiwanger saw strong beer as the “natural enemy of the coronavirus” as a speaker at one of the last strong beer festivals in Lower Bavaria. He once called Söder a “dictator” and a “danger to the country”, of course before the Free Voters formed a coalition with the CSU.

His appearances and his distinctive dialect also make him authentic. The 50-year-old can easily fill a beer tent. On good days, Aiwanger is one of the best speakers in Bavarian politics – in the state parliament he also makes one-hour government statements without taking notes. The Free Voters, similar in content and style to the CSU, are completely dependent on him. Aiwanger gives lectures in talk shows and press conferences, climbs up on election stages. He has played on the Bavarian level since entering the state parliament in 2008 – after successes in other federal states, he has now set his sights on the Bundestag.

“They split the bourgeois camp”

The CSU fears that votes for the free voters could cost them important percentage points. For weeks, leading Christian Socialists have been proclaiming again and again that every cross for the free voters in the federal election is a lost vote. “They split the bourgeois camp without having a chance of overcoming the five percent hurdle at the federal level,” said the CSU parliamentary group leader, Kreuzer.

Aiwanger, on the other hand, is demonstrating unshakable optimism with a view to the general election, and is planning “a tour of the federal states” for the vacation period. If the free voters master the five percent hurdle, he wants to give up his office as Vice-Prime Minister in Munich and move to Berlin – also in the opposition, but of course in a federal government made up of the Union, FDP and Free Voters.