In the local elections in March, the CSU won 32.5 percent – its worst result since the 1950s. The party lost 13 district administrator posts, and an internal party letter from CSU deputy Manfred Weber complained about a lack of community spirit. Söder admitted that the party had achieved “roughly the same percentages” as in 2020, but stressed: “We are by far the strongest, compared to all other democratic parties.”
With regard to the AfD, which won 12.2 percent in Bavaria, Söder said the party could not simply be “wished away.” The party, classified by the domestic intelligence service as certainly right-wing extremist, was a “European phenomenon.” He advised focusing on the work and preventing new elections. A tough migration policy was one way to keep the AfD small: people without the right to stay would have to be “returned.”
Söder also backed Friedrich Merz. The personnel changes in the cabinet were an “episode in between,” and the government was doing “very, very well.” He again spoke out in favor of Ilse Aigner as Federal President – it was “a very good chance” to bring a woman into office this time. He had already received “very positive signals” from the SPD.
Source: Tagesschau
