The summer holidays are just starting in Bavaria, and in Lower Saxony they are almost over, as is the holiday of the state governor Stephan Weil (SPD). He was relaxing at the mountain lakes in northern Italy, at least that is what social media says. A classic holiday photo, man in front of a lake, it’s hard to imagine how they made fun of it in the Munich State Chancellery. Just smile into the camera, not even as a selfie, how old school! No conspicuous headgear, no heroic pose, not even something to eat in the picture, who is he being advised by!
And then this, a few days later: The Prime Minister irons his shirts, apparently at home under the apple tree. The setting is admittedly unusual, the statement probably goes along the lines of “you can do it yourself”.
Now imagine a post from Markus Söder in this pose, doesn’t work, does it? It probably doesn’t correspond to his self-image – and you’re already in the middle of the topic of self-marketing in politics. Söder prefers to take the fighter jet.
Which doesn’t mean that he wants to seem aloof – that’s what #söderisst is for. He uses the old metaphor of the Leberkäse floor, i.e. of the CSU as the party of the common people, in a very vivid way. And even though he clearly eats more bratwurst than Leberkäse, as well as kebabs, chicken and all kinds of grilled food, his preference for simple meat dishes is clearly expressed.
The mixture of food, fighter jets and headgear is obviously so popular that Söder recently had 500,000 followers on Instagram. As a reward for these brave people, he offered a kebab meal, for which he says 45,000 people applied. Not even Markus Söder can eat that much kebab, not even for self-promotion, so 40 people were selected.
It is not known what criteria were used, whether party preferences were asked about or whether – as with the appointment of the cabinet – the regional proportion must be adhered to. One thing is certain: we will not miss the event, because of course there will be selfies. With kebabs.
If you can’t be there, you can win a T-shirt. It says “Söder Kebab” on it, whatever message it may contain. It will definitely find a buyer. Even unironed. And now try to imagine Stephan Weil giving away his shirts. That doesn’t work either, right. But it probably won’t upset him too much.