Just four months ago, the Munich-Land CSU district association initially wanted to hold its delegates’ meeting without media representatives due to the escalating pandemic situation at the time and finally canceled it altogether. The regional party conference took place on Monday evening – with journalists, but in a context that is quite remarkable given the current infection situation.
The district association made it clear that the meeting in the Landgasthof Schmuck in the Sauerlach district of Arget had to take place under the “distance and hygiene rules applicable due to the corona pandemic”. It was also said that all participants were required to wear a mask, “it may be removed at the seat”. In reality, however, there was at least no longer any question of distance rules: the Christian socialists sat elbow to elbow in the room, packed with around 180 people, the mingling smell of beer and various foods gave an approximate impression of how the aerosols were in the still air of the room could spread.
The receptionist did not ask for proof of vaccination; the only request made in the invitation was that one should take a quick test privately and stay at home if the result was positive. Some of the delegates actually had to do that, but those present apparently felt so safe that almost nobody on the seats put on a mask. The re-elected district chairman Florian Hahn was one of the few who at least kept their mouth and nose protection on while sitting in the plenary session.
The CSU local politicians could hardly have demonstrated more impressively that, like their party leader Markus Söder, they have now switched from “Team Caution”, to which they belonged in the autumn, to “Team Freedom”. The next few days will show whether they will soon be integrated into the almost unmanageable team of Omicron infected people.