Well roared, lion: CSU boss Markus Söder praises the best cooperation with Friedrich Merz. “Everything will be solved,” including the K question. Can you trust him?
When the speech was over, when the CSU leader had appropriately inspired the CDU party conference, there was still a present waiting for Markus Söder: a Berlin bear, a figure, a counterpart to the Bavarian lion. Friedrich Merz gave him a piece of wisdom from the animal world: “Lions and bears usually don’t mess with each other.”
That means: Neither of us should, friend!
That matched Söder’s previous appearance. The Bavarian Prime Minister repeatedly spoke about Europe. But that sounded dutiful, the European elections are in a few weeks. The four central messages of his speech were different. Here you are.
The CDU and CSU work well together
It is a good tradition for the CSU leader to speak at the CDU party conference. But Franz-Josef Strauss never really dared, says Söder at the start of his speech. Of course, he himself, Söder, would never think of missing out on such an appearance. Praise Merz. And annoy Merz a bit in the process. Of course, this works particularly well here. The CDU leader sits just a few meters away. And have to listen to it all. Three quarters of an hour Söder. Pure Söder.
The Bavarian Prime Minister thanked for the good cooperation between the CDU and CSU, and between Merz and him. “We didn’t expect it to go so smoothly.” No, you actually couldn’t expect that. But can you believe it?
In addition to Söder’s repeated statements (“It doesn’t work without each other”), the speech itself was the best example of what good cooperation between the CDU and CSU can look like. After Merz had given a stately and boring speech the day before, Söder now took over the rhetorical dirty work for him. Although he didn’t give a beer tent speech, he sprinkled in enough passages to appeal to the delegates’ baser humor instincts.
First taste: Söder said that he had eaten a vegan sausage for the first time a few days ago, in preparation for the party conference, of course. Did it taste good? “Dear friends, leave it alone!”
Second taste: cannabis law. In the Netherlands, 15 joints a month are allowed, in Germany now 75. Yes, actually, 75 joints a month, repeated Söder. “Dear friends, what do you look like afterwards?!”
Then there was a bit of gender gaga, and boom, even the strangest centrist Christian Democrat in the room allowed himself a slight smile. Söder had an easy time of it here: there wasn’t much to laugh about at this party conference.
The K question will not fail because of him
You almost have to be a little grateful to Söder. During these three days of the party conference, there is finally this one question that is always on the table, but is deliberately avoided by the CDU leadership. Who will be the Union’s candidate for chancellor? The decision should be made in late summer. This is what the CDU and CSU agreed with each other.
It took Söder less than five minutes to get to the point. As CDU leader, Merz is the favorite, he says. We have already solved the first K question together. Ursula von der Leyen is set to become President of the EU Commission again. “We will solve the second one together too.” Applause.
Then came the sentence by which the CDU will measure him in the coming weeks and months. “Success in 2025 will not fail me. We’ll rock it together next year and replace the traffic lights.” Big applause.
And so that everyone really noticed: “Don’t worry,” Söder repeated, “we will solve everything.” By Söder’s standards, that was almost an admission: Last time, I wasn’t entirely innocent of the misery, dear Armin Laschet.
No coalition with the Greens!
In surveys, the Union is around 30 percent. The Chancellor’s Party, the SPD, comes in at around half. The exciting question at the moment is not whether Joachim-Friedrich Martin Josef Merz from Brilon in Sauerland has a good chance of becoming Chancellor. The more exciting question is: who does he want to govern with?
Merz would like to be able to choose from the best possible position in order to be able to get as much as possible for his party in negotiations. That’s why he wrote in an email to CDU members in February that he would by no means rule out an alliance with the Greens. The outcry was great.
Black-Green’s biggest opponent comes from Bavaria. Markus Söder left no doubts about this on Tuesday. “Green foreign policy is somehow strange,” he said. Way too moral. And Ricarda Lang as Federal Minister? “I really can’t imagine.”
Cheers in the hall. Well roared, Bavarian lion! But “solve everything” sounds different. Söder and Merz will still come to blows on this coalition issue.
I’m Markus Söder – and you can rely on that!
There was a passage at the very beginning of the speech in which Söder praised himself across the CDU leadership team. The CSU leader not only addressed Friedrich Merz, but also Carsten Linnemann and Thorsten Frei with effusive words. “Friedrich, Carsten and Thorsten, that is the new CDU.” They have also come closer again in terms of content. He really likes the new basic program.
For a moment you could believe, see the first message, that Söder was now going through with this mercilessly, 45 minutes of praise for sisterly bonds. But wow! Söder is still Söder. “Enough praise now,” he says. “In the end, someone will still believe it.”