The people in Bavaria? Most recently, they narrowly said yes in referendums, but the majority said yes when it came to the question of whether wind turbines are being built in their communities. The Association of Bavarian Business, closely associated with the CSU? Calls for the 10-H distance rule to be abolished, which is blocking the expansion of wind power in Bavaria. And what is CSU boss Markus Söder doing? Speaks of “acceptance problems” in society, stubbornly sticks to 10 H. There is no other way to interpret it: The CSU is increasingly bypassing people when it comes to wind energy. Also out of stubbornness.
Yes, there is less wind in Bavaria than on the North Sea, but there are regions that are ideally suited for wind power. Söder himself has repeatedly shown his anger about the 10-H hardliners in the CSU parliamentary group. Söder himself proposed compromises and showed that he is more agile than the stubborn skulls, who, by the way, are not that numerous in the CSU. And then? Söder ironed out the wind power plans of Federal Climate Minister Robert Habeck so categorically that one can only come to the conclusion that lower motives play a role.
For three years, Söder talked a lot about the climate and, yes, made a difference. Since the failed federal election, the CSU has been talking less about the climate and a lot about the fact that the new federal government is acting against the interests of Bavaria. We against Berlin, this old CSU number has recently been used by the party again. The no to Habeck’s plan to tip 10 H fits into this spectacle.
It may be that Söder succeeds in driving up the price for Bavarian concessions. After the tough no, he is now showing a tender willingness to negotiate. With its reflexive stubbornness, the CSU has certainly not won anything from the people who have already shown in the species protection referendum that they are further than Söder’s party. The brakemen in the CSU should finally take note of this. Otherwise the party itself has an acceptance problem.