CSU boss Markus Söder has been calling for new faces for the cabinet in Berlin for a long time.
He apparently prevented the departure of the old rival Horst Seehofer.
Munich / Berlin - Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) had already called for a "rejuvenation" in the federal cabinet at the beginning of 2020.
Because of the corona pandemic, the party chairman of the CSU postponed his demands - but without wanting to give up the idea entirely.
In the case of a party friend and ex-rival, Söder evidently shrank from taking a tough step.
Tempting resignation offer during breakfast from Horst Seehofer to Markus Söder
Because apparently Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) offered his resignation in autumn 2020 during a breakfast in the Bavarian state representation in Berlin Söder, as the
world
reported
on Sunday
.
According to the newspaper, Seehofer had asked Söder for a one-to-one conversation and, with his resignation, offered the CSU boss the opportunity to form a new cabinet.
The 71-year-old did not want to stand in the way of his party leader's “visions of rejuvenation” and wanted to enable him to appoint a new minister for Berlin, it is said.
At that time, the Merkel government's corona management was already under criticism.
According to information from
Welt am Sonntag
, Söder not only rejected Seehofer's proposal, but even asked the CSU minister to end his legislative period in office.
Söder allegedly rejected the interior minister's resignation without consulting Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) - and thus prevented a cabinet reshuffle without Merkel's knowledge.
Asking Söders to end Seehofer's legislative period doesn't make Merkel look good
Seehofer's offer to resign would have been an opportunity for Angela Merkel to correct the interior ministry's “departmental layout” from the coalition negotiations with the CSU and SPD in 2018 - especially the “home ministry”, but also Seehofer's responsibility for the subject of construction, repeatedly attracted criticism the opposition.
Angela Merkel's government was recently criticized for its corona management.
Cases of corruption in the CSU and CDU also increased, and the mask affairs of Georg Nüßlein and Nikolas Löbel may only seem to be the tip of the iceberg.
(
sas
)