For Markus Söder, the place is picture perfect. On the right is the “Wirtshaus zum weissen Hirschen”, on the left a kind of alpine hut and in the middle a beautiful forest beer garden with a bandstand. The CSU leader knows this from Bavaria. This time, however, Söder is on the outskirts of Dresden, and with him is someone who, as a Sauerlander, would probably feel just as comfortable in such a place: Friedrich Merz, CDU leader. There is just one catch. In the Saxon idyll, it is not about drinking beer together, but about the election campaign. On the one hand. On the other hand, also a little about which of the two performs better in this joint show.
Söder and Merz. They say they want to be pretty much best friends. But the Bavarian in particular never misses an opportunity to show how ambitious he is with one or two digs. He puts down stakes that annoy Merz. For example, with regard to the Greens. Merz is now taking it easy. He knows that everything will depend on him when it comes to the question of the candidate for chancellor – all the more so if the elections on Sunday go in the CDU’s favor. So Michael Kretschmer stays as prime minister and the Union becomes the strongest force again. The much smaller Saxon seems a little lost between the two grandees on Monday evening in the forest beer garden. But what the heck.
In the last few days, Kretschmer says he has felt an “incredible tailwind,” in his speech to several hundred supporters. He can use it. “It is a fateful election. Everything is at stake here,” he says. Kretschmer also addresses the attack in Solingen. Anyone who still waits in the face of this crime is “standing aside and doing Germany a very bad service.” A cross-party approach to migration is now needed, “so that peace can return here.” The numbers must be reduced by “actually separating the wheat from the chaff” when it comes to immigration. But Kretschmer also sends a signal to his Union friends standing behind him on the stage: “We won’t let anyone talk us into anything.” Not when it comes to forming a coalition after the election, not even by “a Chancellor Merz,” as Kretschmer somehow lets slip.
It is not that far yet. And Söder also speaks before Merz. The Bavarian Prime Minister jokes right at the beginning that he is from the “small, charming” sister party. His first girlfriend was from Saxony, Söder courts the people’s favor – as always with a few jokes. “The K question has been clarified today: we are for Kretschmer.” Mild laughter. Then Söder attacks the traffic light coalition: There is no progress in Germany, there is a constant “war of the roses” in the government. “The best thing would be if this traffic light coalition finally went away,” says Söder. Michael Kretschmer nods a lot in the background; he gets on well with the Bavarian.
Söder also addresses immigration: “The issue of migration is getting out of hand in our country,” said the CSU leader. “Anyone who is offered protection here and whose reaction is to commit a crime must leave our country permanently,” demands Söder. The Greens in particular are blocking immigration, says Söder. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for Mr Habeck to continue,” he says. He believes “the Greens belong in the opposition and not in the government. I am and will remain against the black-green coalition.” Söder ends with: “Kretschmer for Saxony… and one of us for Germany!” The K question has now become a joke question.
Merz laughs too. What else? The CDU leader then stands in the dark, wrapped in blue. The stage lights refuse to come on. “There is more at stake here,” shouts Merz. The question is whether the political center can achieve a majority in the future. “We came last with the traffic light coalition,” stresses Merz. The government has slipped away from the Chancellor and now the country too. A Chancellor who refuses to explain key parts of his policy should not be surprised “that political disillusionment, aggressiveness and annoyance are increasing.”
The country has been in shock since Solingen. “The problem is not the knives, it’s the people who carry them around with them.” He offered the chancellor, said the man from Sauerland, to tackle the problem of irregular migration together. The Union would follow any reasonable proposal if Olaf Scholz cannot find a majority in his own coalition. Then the Greens, for example, would have to stop at the side of the road. “The caravan will then move on. We must now make decisions in Germany and not talk nonsense,” Merz stressed. The applause at the end is moderate. Not for Söder.
