Manfred Weber, the chairman of the European People’s Party (EPP), was only 0.3 percentage points away from great happiness on this late Sunday evening. Weber’s heart is at least as attached to Bavaria and the CSU as it is to the European Union, so a result of 40 percent in the European elections would have fulfilled all his wishes. He stood as the CSU’s top candidate in the Free State, with his own campaign concept, and it was his face that adorned the CSU posters. In the end, Manfred Weber received 39.7 percent of the Bavarian vote, significantly more than his party chairman – and indeed party rival – Markus Söder had achieved in the state elections. Weber was happy with that. Especially since his European numbers shot to unexpected heights in Brussels over the course of the evening.
Ursula von der Leyen and Manfred Weber: A remarkable couple – Politics
