CSU party conference chooses Söder as the top candidate for the Bavarian election

2023-05-06 15:23:00

The delegates at the party conference in Nuremberg voted unanimously on Saturday to nominate the 56-year-old, who has been Prime Minister of Bavaria since 2018. In his speech, Söder had given the “clear goal” of winning the state election. It should be “a bit more than 2018.”

After the election, the CSU wants to continue the coalition with the free voters, said Söder. He ruled out black and green. He emphasized that Bavaria is his “life’s work”. “This is where I belong,” said Söder, who had recently definitely ruled out a possible candidate for chancellor in the next federal election.

Permanent residence for all

The party chairman defined long-term prosperity for everyone as a goal for the next five years. People should “be able to make a good living from hard work”. Other goals of the CSU are a “good future for the young” and that Bavaria remains “safe and solid”. In addition, nature and agriculture should be preserved, as well as the “Bavarian culture and way of life”.

Söder also announced three lawsuits again. A lawsuit against the state financial equalization system should be filed before the summer. “Bavarian money is better off at home than in Bremen or anywhere else,” he said. In addition, the CSU wants to take legal action against the new Bundestag election law, which Söder called unconstitutional, as well as against inheritance tax regulations.

Criticism of the traffic light government in Berlin

In his speech, the CSU leader railed against the traffic light government in Berlin. With “a series of wrong decisions”, this would become the “greatest risk of poverty in recent German history,” he said. He called Bavaria “wealthy and sexy and smart and that’s why people come to us”. The delegates responded to the speech with a standing ovation and long applause.

At their party congress, the delegates also unanimously decided on a new basic program under the motto “For a new togetherness”. In autumn, Söder wants to be confirmed in the office of CSU chairman at another party conference – two weeks before the state elections on October 8th.

In the newspapers of the Funke media group, Söder was sharply criticized by political opponents on Saturday. He could “make headlines, break promises, put himself in the spotlight,” said Katharina Schulze, leader of the Greens in the Bavarian state parliament. “What he can’t do: provide clean and cheap energy, focus on children and young people, consistently protect the climate.”