Markus Söder turns his head towards the lake. He pushes his lower lip forward and nods. The CSU is once again lucky with the weather this Friday at Tegernsee. Söder had promised a “speedboat” when he announced in May that the CSU is again planning its own program for the Bundestag election – in addition to the joint program with the CDU, which Söder called “aircraft carrier”, which did not sound so quick.
So now the time has come, the CSU presents its plans. But there is no longer any talk of speedboat, despite the lake backdrop. Or that’s why, sailing on the Tegernsee is more leisurely. “The CSU program” is written above the paper, a slim 18 pages. In earlier federal elections it was still called the “Bayern Plan”, but the name is not that important, says Söder. “As with beer: different brands, but it tastes good”.
If you didn’t know until now that Markus Söder wasn’t a beer drinker, you will know from this sentence, which a beer connoisseur would never say. The CSU boss notices himself that his comparison was not totally optimal. Yes, he doesn’t really know “what beer tastes like,” adds Söder. “But the program is very good.”
So 18 pages. With ten headings. 634 lines. But before the written word, the press is presented with the spoken word. 9.46 a.m., the CSU boss goes to the microphone, the lake behind. It’s been three months now, Söder’s defeat in the power struggle for the Union’s candidacy for chancellor against CDU leader Armin Laschet. At Tegernsee you don’t immediately notice that the battle has actually been fought.
It shouldn’t be about “taking the sleeping car to the Chancellery,” says Söder. Which corresponds to the choice of words he used in the candidate duel against Laschet. So there is no doubt: The CSU is still too passive for Laschet’s election campaign. “The Union has stabilized,” says Söder of the polls, most recently at around 30 percent. “But it’s not where we want it to be yet.” He warns against “random majorities” if the Union does not get stronger. Above all, the FDP wants to fight Söder sharply – and in Bavaria the free voters, whose federal political ambitions make the CSU nervous.
One notices that when the election program was presented, in which Söder explicitly labeled the CSU as a “party for the middle class”. The fear of the Greens has diminished somewhat in the CSU. Of course, the program is about the climate, but the emphasis is already very much on family, home, agriculture. The CSU is wooing those who see many in the party as being neglected since Söder has focused heavily on the climate: for its regular voters in the area. Here is an overview of the main points of the program.
family
The first chapter in the CSU program is called: “Right of way for families”. This category includes a core demand that was already known: the higher maternal pension. The CDU had refused to write another half pension point for mothers whose children were born before 1992 in the joint program. In a separate paper, the CSU declares the mother’s pension to be its “basic condition for the next federal government” – which now means in black and white that the CSU is not thinking of giving in to the CDU here. The program also includes a commitment to spouse splitting and the idea of ”child splitting”, which should also relieve single parents. In addition, the CSU wants to extend the parental allowance to up to 16 months and make childcare completely tax-deductible. What the CSU is still demanding: an investment program for the daycare expansion of over four billion euros. To this end, the federal government’s two-billion-euro contribution to childcare costs is to be continued beyond 2022.
Economy and work
In addition to the permanent reduction in VAT in the catering trade and a home office flat rate of 1000 euros, the CSU is calling for the commuter flat rate to be linked to the annual average price for CO2. “The guideline should be: 10 cents more at the pump will make 1 cent more commuter flat-rate in the future,” says the program, which of course also includes the complete abolition of Soli. Although the CSU is planning extensive relief, it has committed itself to the black zero in the program: “Debts such as the Corona crisis must remain the absolute exception.” That Laschet recently braked while Söder insisted on quick relief? “We are seamlessly in agreement,” says Söder.
Climate protection
When it comes to climate protection, the CSU wants, among other things, a “climate bonus for home”, a tax deductible bonus of up to 10,000 euros for climate-friendly investments in private households, for example in electrical appliances. In addition, a “climate depreciation”, ie special depreciation options for companies that invest in energy efficiency. The value added tax for regionally produced food is to be reduced, forest owners are to receive a “forest bonus” for the active preservation of stable forests “, the craftsman bonus is to be doubled as an incentive for climate-friendly renovations. In addition, the CSU is calling for a special program to reactivate disused railway lines.
Digitization and Security
Faster Internet, more digital education, more space research – when it comes to digitization, the CSU is relying on well-known demands. In the chapter on security, which used to be the central CSU topic, the party demands higher penalties for grandchildren fraudsters and free public transport for soldiers.
At 2:04 p.m. Markus Söder is at the microphone for a second time in front of the lake. The open air meeting of the party executive committee is over, the election program has been decided. The CSU had also appointed an election researcher to the meeting, who examined Bavaria’s confidence in Söder and Laschet. The fact that the results were quickly leaked was certainly also due to the fact that they flatter the CSU boss. 61 percent trust Söder, 36 percent Laschet. It has been apparent for a while that the CSU will primarily campaign for itself. The numbers of the election researcher should certainly not lead to the fact that the CSU completely papered the billboards in Bavaria with Laschet posters.
Söder speaks of “pure Bavaria” before holding the CSU program in the cameras. The program will help “make the CDU even stronger”. It is a showdown that Söder performs at Tegernsee, also with the sister party. He calls for at least three ministerial posts for the CSU. “More like”, says Söder, “less not”.