When it comes to federal election campaigns, Florian Hahn is already an old hand: the CSU politician has represented the Munich district in Berlin since 2009, and he knows what matters in the fight for a direct mandate. Direct contact with the citizens is important to him, to convey to the people that he, the MP, is within their grasp and represents their interests. This time it’s all a little more difficult than in the three previous election campaigns. On the one hand, this is due to Corona, due to the recent increase in the number of infections, around half of all events take place virtually. “I’m practically missing a year and a half when it comes to public appointments. Normally, no flag consecration would have been safe from me,” says Hahn, laughing. “I just miss this direct contact with the people in my home constituency.”
And then the 47-year-old also has to struggle with a very personal handicap: he broke his big toe twice in a household accident, and in the hot phase of the election campaign he is on crutches with a bulky special shoe. “Logistically, it’s not that easy. And when I came home in the evening after a long day on my feet with many appointments, my foot was twice as thick as usual,” says Putzbrunner.
But Hahn knows that this time he may have to fight a little more for his direct mandate than in the three previous elections, after all, until a few weeks ago, the Greens were still on par with the Union – and the direct opponent in the constituency is no less as the co-chairman of the parliamentary group, Anton Hofreiter. Hahn’s fighting spirit is awakened in any case: “Even if the polls in the constituency were good recently, I take the election very seriously as always and fight for every vote,” he says, but refers to the predominantly good mood at the electoral booths: “The people are friendlier than in 2017, when the Seehofer-Merkel controversy had already angered many voters. “
The fact that Hofreiter is far less present in the district during the election campaign than Hahn is indicated by the Christian Socialist only indirectly: “I have always been available on site for twelve years, not just during the election campaign, but continuously. I make this promise for the next four years. “
The four that have passed could have been worse for the professional politician: after the formation of the government, in addition to his duties in the Defense Committee, he became European policy spokesman for the CDU / CSU parliamentary group and chairman of the European Union Affairs working group. “That was a great job, especially in such important times with Brexit and Corona and in the meantime during the German EU Council Presidency.” Hahn has also been Deputy Secretary General of the CSU since 2019, making him one of the party’s highest-ranking representatives in Berlin. As a result of this function, he has repeatedly moved into the closest circle of decision-makers in the federal government around Chancellor Merkel, says the MP, who is also a confidante of CSU boss and Prime Minister Markus Söder.
His standing within the party is also reflected in the positioning of Florian Hahn on the CSU state list with equal representation for the federal elections, where he is the fourth highest man behind state group leader Alexander Dobrindt, Federal Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer and the former Federal Minister of the Interior Hans-Peter Friedrich seven. Hahn leaves it open whether he is hoping for an even more influential role in the next legislative period: “First of all, we have to win the election. That is the basic prerequisite for staying in the game.”
And if that should be the case, the Putzbrunner wants to continue on the political path that has been chosen. For example, when it comes to the energy transition. Here he continues to see “huge potential” in geothermal energy in the district, where eleven of the 36 plants currently in Germany are operated. Not least at the instigation of the CSU, the government extended the energy feed-in law and thus laid the foundation for “continuing to supply entire communities with regenerative energy”. In any case, he sees the Union in no way lagging behind other applicants in terms of green policy, especially not in Bavaria: “We are number one in Germany for hydropower and solar energy, as well as for climate-friendly mobility and charging infrastructure.” Hahn doesn’t believe in bans, he calls it the “socialist variant” when the Greens want to regulate meat consumption or the construction of single-family houses: “If you forbid a saleswoman to fly to Mallorca on vacation, you lose him People.”
Hahn is also clear about other issues affecting the district. In his opinion, the shortage of living space can only be alleviated by higher construction methods, but he sees the state capital as having a duty first and foremost. As far as the increasingly extensive through traffic is concerned, which is causing problems for many communities, Hahn hopes for significant relief once the eight-lane expansion of the A 99 is completed. Even with the creation of new cycle paths, “a lot has already been achieved”, mainly because of his party colleague Christoph Göbel in his role as district administrator. Hahn’s favorite topic is and remains securing the Munich district as a business location, and above all the future of Airbus and the Ludwig-Bölkow-Campus: “The aerospace faculty has been founded, now further steps have to follow,” says the MP and refers to the start-up “Isar Aerospace”, which developed a small launcher that transports small satellites and satellite constellations into space. The promotion of such innovations is absolutely essential for the location.
There is not much time for private matters, also in view of the commuting between Berlin and the district of Munich. And so both swimming and shooting in the Wendlstoana Putzbrunn rifle club, much to Hahn’s regret, continue to be neglected. But the 47-year-old always likes to take time for one thing, as he says: “The children are getting bigger, there is already one or the other political discussion within the family.”
All information on the federal election in the Munich district is available at sz.de/muenchen-land.