CSU General Secretary Blume: “Union would ‘of course’ be better off with Söder”

The taunts from Munich never end: CSU General Secretary Blume now said that if Söder were a candidate for Chancellor, the Union would “of course” be better off in the election campaign. Union chancellor candidate Laschet again called for unity.

According to CSU General Secretary Markus Blume, the Union’s low polls in the federal election campaign have to do with Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet from the sister party CDU. “Of course we would be better off with Markus Söder as candidate for chancellor,” he told the “Spiegel”. However, Blume also emphasized that it is now not a question of “getting right in retrospect, but rather making the Union the strongest force. We’ll subordinate everything to that”.

Despite the poor starting position with surveys for the Union between 19 and 25 percent, Blume was confident that the party congress could bring about a change in trend. “We now have to put on the combat suit, as Edmund Stoiber said earlier, and unironed. We will see a closed CSU and a determined party leader Söder.”

Laschet calls for unity

Laschet appealed to the unity of the Union parties in view of the new tips from the CSU leadership. In the election campaign you are facing a directional decision, said the CDU boss on the sidelines of a board meeting of the European People’s Party (EPP) in Berlin. “At the end of September 26th, the CDU and CSU will do everything possible to win these elections.” Laschet directly avoided criticism of the latest statements from the CSU top. He is expected to give a speech this Saturday at the CSU party conference in Nuremberg.

Merkel: “bills will be billed on election day”

Chancellor Angela Merkel also spoke at the EPP meeting. She emphasized that the outcome of the Bundestag election was still open for the Union despite persistently disastrous polls. “We are in the middle of the election campaign. I can feel that there is really fighting going on.” And added: “It will be billed on election day.”

Laschet had prevailed in April against Söder in the candidacy for chancellor within the Union. The Union is now loud ARD Germany trend behind the SPD – and also the CSU in Bavaria threatens the worst election result in decades. There is a risk of falling below the 30 percent mark. Blume also indirectly blamed Laschet for this: “There is always a very strong influence of the federal trend in federal elections. We cannot escape from that either.”

Warning from Munich

CSU boss Söder had previously warned that the Union was running out of time to bring about a change in mood. “If there is still a chance to break the trend, it will be this weekend,” Söder told the dpa news agency. The CSU wanted to initiate the turnaround “a little” with its party congress on Friday and Saturday in Nuremberg. Söder explained that the Union could only win the election if they worked together: “It is not a question of style now. We all have to negotiate.”

CSU puts pressure on Laschet

Without addressing it directly, Söder should also do that on Sunday ARD and ZDF add the upcoming second triad of the top candidates from Union, SPD and Greens to the weekend of the decision. Before the TV exchange of blows, CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt put pressure on Laschet. “That will be watched by an audience of millions,” he told im BR– Radio on the broadcast on Sunday. Laschet must “use the opportunity to significantly improve his personality values”.

At the same time, Dobrindt emphasized the support of the CSU for the candidate for chancellor. “There is no other variant.”

Söder also rejected criticism that he did not support Laschet sufficiently. “There is hardly a group that has made as many election campaign events for him as the CSU,” Söder told the “Handelsblatt”. “We post countless large areas in Bavaria with Armin Laschet and more than most CDU associations.”