CSU party conference in Munich: Everyone for Ilse

The CSU leader had already been speaking for over an hour when the sentence that the delegates had been waiting for in Hall C6 at the Munich exhibition center was spoken. The fact that he stumbles a bit doesn't dampen the mood: "The decision will be made somewhere else," said Markus Söder on Friday afternoon at the CSU party conference. “But I would really like it if Ilse Aigner became Federal President.” Until then, the delegates had always applauded their boss in a friendly manner during his combative speech, but at this moment the delegates burst out and the hall cheered. Aigner stands up and waves to the delegates. “Do it again tomorrow,” Söder recommends to his people. The visit of Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz is on the program for Saturday lunchtime.

It is the climax and conclusion of a remarkable speech. A speech that stood out from the mass of Söder's speeches, as we know them from party conferences, beer tent appearances, Ash Wednesday and the state parliament. A speech that underlines Söder's recently clearly noticeable effort to be more serious and - as strange as the word may sound in the context of Söder's person - modesty.

It starts even before Söder steps up to the microphone. On the screen behind the stage you can't see a Söder image film, for which someone has edited images of Söder together in the style of a pop star to upbeat music. That's how it used to be. Instead, not a single picture of Söder, but snippets of news from all over the world - from the unrest in France and Italy, the coalition talks in Berlin, the rulers in Russia, China and the USA, etc. At the end the sentence: “In turbulent times like these, it is good when there is a place of security and stability – and that is Bavaria.” Not a word from Söder.

Söder himself then speaks surprisingly little about himself, mostly choosing the pronoun “we”. He also refrains from making the usual jokes at the expense of others and presents himself as a self-critical team player. He was grateful for the criticism he received from his own party after the failed local elections. “No one is infallible and especially not me,” says Söder. And: "We really have to stick together. We are only strong together."

In terms of content, Söder's speech is hardly surprising: he talks a lot about the political fringes, the Left Party and the AfD. Germany is in the middle of a hurricane. “The blue wave is rolling, the red front is coming.” The CSU is not prepared to “leave Germany to the radicals”. Söder warns of a left-wing government in Berlin. The Left Party there is “an evil left,” he warns, and asks: “Where is the firewall to the left?”

When Söder talks about Berlin, state financial equalization is not far away. Of course he'll talk to him now too. It “hurts like hell,” says Söder. Ultimately, most of the money went to Berlin, four billion euros a year. Bavaria will discuss with Baden-Württemberg and Hesse an extremism clause in the state financial equalization, which will prevent states governed by a radical party from being supported by donor states.

This would also affect Saxony-Anhalt if the AfD were to form the government there. Söder is just as harsh with her as he is with the Left Party. “We don’t want Kremlin henchmen in power in Germany.” For the AfD, the Union is the main enemy: “They want to replace us.” The concept of the firewall was burned down. "But there is no normality in dealings. The AfD is not a normal democratic party." However, Söder again warns against a ban on the predominantly right-wing extremist party. This doesn't solve the problem, it just gives the AfD martyr status. “As much as it hurts: we have to defend ourselves democratically.”

Of course, classics such as inheritance tax, which should not increase, or citizens' insurance, which should not even exist, are not missing. Nor is there any reference to Bavaria's leading position in various areas. "The truth is: the world is actually still okay with us. We are the heart muscle of Germany." Bavaria has the most solid finances, the fewest unemployed people and the lowest poverty rate. Bavaria, for example, is also a space nation. “Franz Josef Strauss would be proud of us,” says Söder and admits that he slept in Star Wars bed linen as a child.

Söder sometimes throws one or two daring metaphors at his audience. He shouts: “We are the patron saints of mothers in Bavaria and Germany.” And I hope that the Olympic rings will soon shine in white and blue. And the CSU boss still thinks that Bavaria's students have to sing the Bavarian, German and European anthems at the end of the school year is a great thing.

Addressing the Union, Söder demands: “We have to become number one.” If the CDU and CSU gave up this claim, it would be the end of the Union. To do this, you have to watch the people's mouths and enter into coalitions with the people. “Anyone who talks past the people should not be surprised if the people vote past them.”

When Söder finished his speech after about 70 minutes, the delegates jumped up. The applause should go equally to the chairman and the President of the State Parliament, Aigner. She stands in the front row and claps. And smiles blissfully.