At the end of the digital winter retreat of the CSU parliamentary group, party leader and Prime Minister Markus Söder swore in the MPs for the coming weeks and months and gave an assessment of the political situation. In his approximately half-hour speech on Tuesday, which was closed to the public, Söder defended his currently rather reserved corona course – and, according to participants in the video link, referred to the economic challenges of the pandemic, especially for medium-sized companies, which the CSU counts among its core target groups.
The fact that there are no longer any Bavarian ministers in the new federal cabinet was again presented by Söder to the parliamentary group as an opportunity for the CSU to make a name for itself as a representative of Bavarian interests. In addition, he spread a “spirit of optimism” and motivated MPs to “swarm out” again and show more presence in society as soon as the pandemic allows.
Once again, Söder indicated a cabinet reshuffle. “In due course” he wants to “refine” the team, he said, according to participants in the CSU retreat. Söder had already made corresponding allusions at his party’s virtual New Year’s start on January 8, without becoming more specific. In contrast, parliamentary group leader Thomas Kreuzer said he did not believe that there would be “major changes soon” in the cabinet. In his speech, Söder is also said to have announced that he would rethink the organization of the party and better interlink the levels, from the municipal to the European level. The fact that Söder is said to have shown some dissatisfaction with European policy was also referred to by some in the group as CSU man Manfred Weber, the chairman of the conservative EPP group in the EU Parliament, who recently said that the CSU had to “look less at what matters. But what matters.” That in turn could be understood as criticism of Söder.
In his own words, Söder would like to coordinate closely with the sister party CDU and its designated chairman Friedrich Merz. 2021 will not be repeated, said the CSU boss, as several MPs reported after his speech. In the past year there had been tensions between Söder and the current CDU leader and Union Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet – in the fall the federal elections were lost, with a result that was also devastating for the CSU in Bavaria: 31.7 percent.
Also on Tuesday, the CSU parliamentary group discussed several resolutions that were passed late in the afternoon. The main topics included the protests against anti-corona measures, volunteering in Bavaria and health and care. In the resolutions, the CSU MPs call for tougher penalties for demonstrators who misuse their children as “shields” against the police. According to the parliamentary group, voluntary work should be taken into account in the case of retirement or waiting semesters for university places. In health and care, on the other hand, the CSU demands more training and further education opportunities as well as stronger financial incentives.
Originally, the CSU state parliamentary group wanted to meet in the Seeon monastery in Chiemgau, but in December they decided to hold the exam in the state parliament in Munich due to the tense pandemic situation. After the Free Voters canceled their retreat last week because several members of the parliamentary group had tested positive for the corona virus, the CSU also changed its plans and decided against a face-to-face retreat in the Maximilianeum and in favor of a completely digital format. A more detailed Söder keynote speech, including a discussion of the course towards the 2023 state election, was removed from the agenda and should be made up for at a later date when the Corona situation allows a real meeting.
How the mood will be until then will also depend on the new “Bayerntrend”, the traditional and renowned election poll by Bayerischer Rundfunk, which is expected this Wednesday. “We let ourselves be surprised,” said parliamentary group leader Kreuzer. Recently, the pollsters of the CSU had predicted rather weak values. In a Sat1 survey, the party would have reached 35 percent in the first week of January if the state elections had already taken place at that time. This would put the CSU well below the 37.2 percent in the 2018 election, when it suffered double-digit losses and achieved the second-worst result in its history.