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The counted chancellor candidate, and the one who wanted to become one: At the CSU party congress, Söder and Laschet push their way through the crowd in demonstrative unity with one goal in mind: to avert the historic election disaster.
"History will be made this weekend", Söder announced full-bodied.
For Armin Laschet they pulled out all the stops: his face hangs on every wall, Junge Union supporters sing Armin choirs.
JU supporter:
»Armin!
Chancellor!"
Almost 900 delegates stand in line when the CDU chief enters the stage.
In his speech, Laschet seeks proximity to his former rival Söder.
"I am sure that if we win the election, we will both shape the next few years in Germany in the coalition committee, and I am looking forward to that, dear Markus"
And Laschet knows how to get applause from the CSU supporters.
»Franz-Josef Strauss once said:" To err is human, always to err is social democratic "and he got to the point. In all the decisions made in post-war history, Social Democrats were always on the wrong side. "
The delegates thanked him with standing ovations.
Family quarrel in the Union?
You don't want to know anything about that here.
Bernd Posselt, former MEP:
»The party congress was a party congress of new beginnings and Armin Laschet took hearts by storm.
And so he will also conquer the Chancellery. "
Manfred Weber, MEP:
»Armin Laschet was warmly welcomed today at the CSU and he was adopted all the more hotly.
We want, we're on fire now.
Edmund Stoiber, former Prime Minister of Bavaria:
»I believe that a real contribution has been made today because it has convinced many who perhaps did not know him politically as he presented himself today: content-related and always drawing conclusions.
It's a directional decision, like then, like yesterday, today and tomorrow. "
Laschet convinced the CSU veterans.
But what about the base?
Hymns of praise and thunderous applause seem to drown out the miserable poll numbers.
The Union is currently at a historically poor 22 percent.
What is it
Deniz Küçükçankaya, Junge Union member:
»Well, I do believe that the polls have a lot to do with the candidate.
That's what people see first.
They'll see Armin Laschet and they'll see Markus Söder. "
So is Söder the better candidate?
Jonas Jezussek, Junge Union member:
»I say it as it is: It is the truth.
Of course it's not something that should be boasted about now, all the time. "
Anja Haußner, CSU delegate:
»We really have a goal now.
And although we are Bayern, we are always something special, we know that.
But now there is a goal and that is Armin Laschet. "
Quite a few members are annoyed by the constant staff debates, they want more content.
Thomas Schaller, CSU delegate:
»I think we have recently tried very hard to warn against the others.
And maybe we should rather rely on our program and the content so that we also have a plan for the future. "
The unanimously adopted lead motion has already given the direction: protect conservative values, not too much change.
True to the motto: "Stability instead of sliding to the left".
Siegfried Ziegler, CSU delegate:
“And I mean, of course you have to see one thing, you just can't see the candidate who is in front, but you have to see the team behind it.
And when I look at the Reds now, that's yes, that's a nightmare.
When I imagine that the Hofreiter might one day become Minister of Agriculture.
And what's the boy's name?
Kühnert, the young politician?
(Kevin Kühnert?) Yes, that's exactly what he will also get a ministerial office.
So I feel completely different. "
Markus Söder did not want a red sock campaign 2.0, he emphasized right at the beginning of his speech on Friday, only to say something like this half an hour later:
Markus Söder, party chairman:
"Saskia Esken, she raves about democratic socialism. Kevin Kühnert, who actually wants to open a bar and also wants to expropriate BMW. NOWABO, Norbert Walter-Borjans, the only finance minister who was confirmed by the court that his budget is unconstitutional. And Anton Hofreiter, who for years has vehemently refused to accept the successful achievements of the Bavarian hairdressing trade, my friends, that is the reality, this is not a shadow cabinet, but a horror cabinet, that is the truth!
"
Söder not only distributes against red-green, but also against the unloved coalition partner in Munich.
Markus Söder, party chairman:
“
The Free Voters, who already said at one of the events that they want to appoint the Foreign Minister soon, Hubert Aiwanger could become Foreign Minister .. maybe Foreign Minister for Gastronomy, dear friends. The truth is, Free Voters are a given vote. In no poll, no matter which institute, not even in their own poll, the free voters have a chance at the Bundestag. Dear friends, in the worst case scenario, we risk that the votes will be distributed to left-wing groups through compensation mandates. The Free Voters do not come in because nobody in West Germany knows them, and nobody in North Germany understands them, dear friends
«
Söder and Laschet have declared the last few meters of the election campaign to be a fateful decision: a bourgeois coalition on the one hand, slipping to the left on the other.
The threatening scenario seems to unite the former adversaries.
But how credible is the alliance, and does it come in time?
Erwin Huber, former Prime Minister of Bavaria:
“Well, maybe it was a bit late overall, I have to admit.
The start of the election campaign was not ideal, but now we are on our feet and for the last 14 days we will bring about this decision and, as I am convinced, go into the future with Armin Laschet as Federal Chancellor. "
Whether the CSU party congress heralds the turnaround is questionable. The Union family obviously no longer wants to be accused of a lack of unity.