Mask affair: renewal of the CSU? Nothing! – Opinion

“Dog sans scho” is an old Bavarian saying that for a long time also stood for the essence of the CSU. At least from parts of the CSU. This saying refers to people who make a difference, but who do not care about moral or other limits. Those who have a reputation for unabashedly doing their things in their own pockets; but they are more admired than condemned. Because something is also lost for others, in the best case for the whole country. In the CSU, this dubious respect applied above all to Franz Josef Strauss and his pupils. Quite a few have continued in this sense to this day. People like Peter Gauweiler, Alfred Sauter and a few others.

“Dog sans scho”, this slogan has long had nothing to do with what a largely enlightened, liberal society in a solid democracy expects and is allowed to expect from its politicians. But even under party leader and Prime Minister Markus Söder, the CSU does not manage to break with the past, or at least leave it behind. After the mask affair around Alfred Sauter and Georg Nüßlein began, Söder had proclaimed nothing less than a renewal of his party. “For a new CSU you need new rules and a new spirit.” The party has not got rid of its old spirits to this day.

The way Söder and the party leadership have acted so far, the new CSU cannot do anything either. When it comes to dubious processes, only what others reveal is admitted. With a few exceptions, this has always been the case and continues to this day. In the case of Sauter, which is about much more than mask deals, the party and its ministers prefer not to look too closely. It was the state parliament opposition that with persistent questions and inquiries brought to light which wealthy clients the lawyer Sauter has been opening the doors to for years at CSU-led ministries in Bavaria.

A reform of the donation rules failed mainly because of the Union

After the pandemic began, Nüßlein is said to have put pressure on a mask supplier at Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn so that he could get his money quickly. That was the delivery for which Nüßlein also collected. It doesn’t work brash. Then there is Gauweiler and its dubious connections. But Söder & Co. prefer to look the other way. And what about more transparency in party donations? Nothing. A reform of the donation rules with more publication obligations failed mainly because of the Union.

And the CSU leaves it completely in the dark who was allowed to dine with the party and government leaders Söder and Seehofer when Sauter organized so-called donor meals in a luxury restaurant in Munich for years. These were corporate executives, real estate entrepreneurs and other guests. Sure, the CSU has already done a lot with other parties to largely rule out a mix of mandate and business in the future. And to limit the rampant lobbying of the powerful in parliaments and make it more transparent. But without complete clarification of what Sauter & Co. have been up to until the end, and without complete transparency, especially with regard to party donations, this will only be piecemeal.

In the virtual “Hall of Fame“The CSU, which really does exist, still includes some who have little to do with basic Christian social values. Alfred Sauter is one of them.

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