Markus Söder, known to be a master of self-dramatization, only hesitates – if at all – for a very brief moment. Then the Bavarian Prime Minister enters the karaoke stage in the ABBA Museum in Stockholm, grabs a microphone and gets started: “Dancing Queen” is performed by the virtual ABBA singers to the left and right of him – and Söder joins in.
At first he just moves his hips, swings his arms, gestures. Then he moves his lips and reads the text – even if nothing can be heard at first. Only later does his voice come through in individual places.
“The performance is even better than the singing,” he says afterwards with a little hint of demonstrative self-irony. Doesn’t matter. In the end, Söder’s entire ABBA performance lasts less than two minutes – but the PR professional has done it again: the videos are going viral on social media.
Söder is a politician who thinks in pictures and videos like no other. Who presents himself in a way that sometimes causes enemies and sometimes friends to shake their heads critically and doubtfully. The fact is: On platform X alone (formerly Twitter), the video on Söder’s account was viewed tens of thousands of times within a short period of time.
“When you think of Sweden, you automatically think of ABBA,” says Söder after his short appearance – and rushes to the next appointment: with the defense and civil defense ministers. He had already been received by Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson the evening before.
And the “emotional highlight” of his three-day trip was still to come: a reception with Queen Silvia. Such an appointment at the royal palace, which was planned for Thursday afternoon, is anything but usual for a regional prime minister. But what is usual for and with Söder?