The CSU state group starts the election campaign summer with their summer retreat in the Andechs monastery. Before the Bavarian state elections in October, the CSU wants to pay as little attention to the AfD as possible and score points with its own issues.
It promises to be an idyllic day in Kloster-Andechs. The CSU state group meets there within the CDU/CSU parliamentary group for their summer retreat. The weather forecast predicts sunshine, the Bavarian mountains and the Ammersee serve as a backdrop. And he is the icing on the cake: Friedrich Merz. The CDU boss has traveled south to support the sister party in the upcoming election campaign.
He is happy about every appearance that Merz makes in Bavaria, says the chairman of the CSU state group, Alexander Dobrindt. It is not a matter of course that the CDU and CSU would get along very well. With Merz, however, this is first-class.
Still a certain distrust
So much harmony, so much idyll. But nothing is as perfect as it seems. Even if the relationship between the Union parties has improved significantly, there is still a certain mistrust between the CDU and CSU, especially when it comes to the question of the chancellor candidacy. No matter who you ask about it in the CDU, the answer always sounds similar: It depends on the results of the state elections in Bavaria. If CSU boss Markus Söder gets more than 40 percent, many suspect that he will come back into play as a candidate for chancellor, strengthened by a good election result.
No matter how it turns out, there will probably only be a decision on the question with Söder. Apparently, Merz knows that too – and tries to lower the hook. At the last parliamentary group meeting before the summer break, he announced to the Union members of the Bundestag that he and Söder would answer the question in due course. An affront to CDU prime ministers like Hendrik Wüst and Daniel Günther, some of whom are critical of Merz and who are said to have ambitions for the chancellor candidacy.
The CSU has discovered the topic of respect
Söder and Merz will face the press together in Andechs in the afternoon and talk about the “respect agenda” that is to be adopted at the exam. Olaf Scholz also used the term “respect” in the 2021 federal election campaign. Now the CSU has also discovered the topic for itself. And indeed, their paper reads like an election program – not just for Bavaria, but for all of Germany.
Almost all subject areas from economic and foreign policy to internal security are included in the draft resolution. In many cases, it is about well-known positions: the Union wants to reverse the building energy law as well as the shutdown of nuclear power plants. Climate activists who stick to the streets should be punished more severely.
There should be relief with the CSU for inheritance tax. According to the draft resolution of the cloister, homes should be able to be passed on to the next generation tax-free – whether as a gift or as an inheritance. The proposal of the CSU stipulates that those who do not move in themselves but rent out do not have to pay inheritance tax. Anyone who inherits the house of their parents or grandparents and lives in it themselves or rents it out for the next ten years should get this house tax-free, said regional group leader Dobrindt ARD Capital Studio before the start of the exam.
Own priorities instead of AfD topics
Dobrindt hopes that by emphasizing its own economic policy competence, the CSU can also show weaknesses in the AfD. It must be clear to everyone what they get if they want to turn to the AfD out of a protest attitude. From Dobrindt’s point of view, the substantive weakness of the AfD, especially in the area of economic policy and the question of maintaining prosperity and growth, has not been sufficiently addressed. The CSU wants to start here.
In fact, it is striking that the issue of migration is addressed very late in the paper. Before that come umpteen other demands, right at the beginning there is “promote growth” and “tax-exempt overtime”. Economic instead of refugee issues: The CSU has apparently learned from the 2018 election campaign and is now focusing on its own issues instead of AfD issues. It’s best not to pay attention at all, not to talk about the party, that’s apparently the new credo of the CSU. So Söder prefers to work on the Greens and categorically rules out a coalition with them.
The poll numbers could be better
The Christsozialen have prepared themselves for a sweaty election campaign summer. The poll numbers could be better. The Greens are in second place and the Free Voters are also gaining ground. Their boss Hubert Aiwanger should give Söder a lot of headaches. Because he is a welcome guest in beer tents – one who, after his violent attacks on the “heating ideology” of the traffic light coalition and his sentence that the silent majority must bring democracy back, is probably more likely to be welcomed in some of them than Söder.
So Söder can only really be interested in a relaxed relationship with Merz at the moment. When the two party leaders talk about respect in a postcard-perfect Bavarian setting, they will certainly produce media-effective images. It will be exciting to see what the joint appearances of Söder and Merz will look like next year – when the decision on the chancellor candidacy can no longer be postponed.