The Union has a historically bad result in the federal election in 2021.
Erwin Huber was chairman of the CSU himself, but had to resign in 2008 because the party won 43.4 percent in the state elections.
A conversation with Lower Bavaria about possible lessons and consequences.
Mr. Huber, do you share the diagnosis: the result is a disaster for the Union?
Yes.
It's sobering, it's devastating, it's half a disaster.
"Armin Laschet was not given a chance in public opinion"
Then let's look for the reasons - let's start with the candidate for chancellor ...
Overall, Armin Laschet was not given a chance in public opinion.
He got off to an extremely difficult start and then lacked support from within.
You can see: If there is no agreement between the CDU and CSU, then that will be punished by the voters.
In principle, Laschet had pushed through the CDU leadership against its own base. Wasn't that the basic mistake?
You have to go back even further: the CDU has experienced an enormous mess and a power vacuum in the past three years.
It took revenge for the fact that there was no sensible decision-making process within the CDU.
.
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Then you inevitably have to ask about the role of Angela Merkel.
I don't think she can be in any way satisfied with her political legacy as far as the CDU is concerned.
It turns out that the transition is always very difficult after a long reign.
That was a disaster for Helmut Kohl - and unfortunately things don't look much better for the Union after Angela Merkel.
Huber: "The time of the lament was too long"
For a long time, mainly expressions of displeasure about Laschet came from the CSU, then cheers. That wasn't very credible.
The time of the lament was too long.
The CSU formed its attack formation too late.
In addition, the Union did not have a sparkling, emotionalizing campaign topic - neither the CDU nor the CSU.
As a result, we were unable to mobilize the supporters.
Regarding the cross shots: Should Markus Söder have had more control over himself?
He then switched himself, at the latest at the party congress.
From my point of view it was too late.
That had a very negative impact on the election campaign.
Beyond the CDU: What lessons does the CSU have to draw from this election?
First of all: we in Berlin must not give up the right to form a government.
It must be clarified who will get a majority capable of governing.
But for the CSU, all eyes should be on the state election campaign in 2023.
The cards are being completely reshuffled.
What does that mean programmatically?
The CSU as a people's party must find a location where it can advance modernization without leaving anyone on the sidelines.
So Markus Söder has a big job to do to bring modernizers and traditional regular voters together.
That is the enormous challenge for the party leadership in the next two years.
"Must also talk about the anti-CSU behavior of Hubert Aiwanger and the Free Voters"
Was Markus Söder a little too green recently?
I don't think you can bet on one card alone.
A people's party must also keep developing, but it must not become one-sided.
By the way, we also have to talk about the anti-CSU behavior of Hubert Aiwanger and the Free Voters.
What does that mean?
The free voters are not allowed to constantly attack the CSU.
Are you questioning the coalition with the Free Voters in Bavaria?
It cannot go on like it did in the last two months.
Either one is with us or against us.
There simply shouldn't be such back and forth in a coalition.
Do you need a cabinet reshuffle in Bavaria in order to bring new heads to the fore now?
"The CSU must position itself more broadly"
Overall, the CSU must appear more broadly as a people's party.
Markus Söder is safe, as the party congress showed.
But the CSU must position itself more broadly.
In addition to Söder and Manfred Weber, we need more people who stand for such important areas as economy, modern environmental protection and social issues.
So an end to the one-man show Söder?
One man is out anyway.
The future belongs to the teams.
Interview: Mike Schier
