He was supposed to save important state elections - CSU General Mayer politically at the end after threatening journalists?

Created: 05/03/2022, 21:54

By: Mike Schier, Christian Deutschlaender

Stephan Mayer (l) and Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder.

© IMAGO/Frank Hoermann/SVEN SIMON

Earthquake in the CSU: Shortly after taking office, Secretary General Stephan Mayer falls over an affair.

Unpleasant for Markus Söder - he had entrusted him with the organization of the state election.

Munich – The party chairman was very satisfied with himself.

He made a “great choice”, said Markus Söder to journalists in Munich.

His new Secretary General, Stephan Mayer, is "very experienced in the media", even when it comes to difficult appearances.

"That really gives you momentum again."

CSU man Mayer: dispute with a journalist marks the end of his political career

That was two months ago, and it is now clear: the momentum has come differently than Söder had hoped.

Mayer resigned somewhat surprisingly on Tuesday evening.

The 48-year-old from Altötting falls over his handling of a private affair.

He is said to have threatened a journalist to "destroy him," according to a letter from a lawyer that is available to our newspaper.

For Mayer it should be the end of his political career in Berlin and Munich.

The subject of the dispute with the journalist was a report by

magazine about Mayer's private life.

The member of the Bundestag - single, according to official information childless - has an eight-year-old son, but does not stand by him and does not pay alimony.

The truth content is completely uncertain.

Almost all other media, including our newspaper, refrained from further distribution.

Stephan Mayer: “I will destroy you.

I will locate you"

Mayer apparently tried to prevent the story from being printed.

He is said to have massively harassed the journalist on his cell phone a week ago.

"I will destroy you.

I will track you down.

I will follow you to the end of your life” – with these words the journalist’s lawyers quote the CSU general secretary.

He is also said to have demanded that the magazine be stopped from printing and to have demanded 200,000 euros in damages from the publisher.

Mayer admits in his resignation that the conversation took place.

He "possibly used a choice of words that I would not consider appropriate in retrospect," he spread in the evening via SMS.

He's very sorry.

However, the reporting was “blatantly illegal”.

Incidentally, he is resigning “for health reasons”, that is his “personal decision”.

For the CSU, the resignation is a shock.

So far, only a very small circle knew about Mayer's alleged freak out.

However, several in the party leadership noticed that things were not going well with the new general.

His communication is bad, it was said, he avoids the media.

At the party conference in Würzburg, Mayer unwound his part without moving, but hardly set any accents.

Only one thing stuck, when the CSU general accused the SPD chancellor of being a “sailor”.

Prime Minister Söder already knows Mayer from JU times

Mayer probably underestimated the storm in his own ranks.

In politics there will probably be some who hold Söder an unfortunate grip.

Smaller anecdotes about Mayer kept coming up – road traffic, arguments at festivals, billing matters – which now do not condense into a good picture.

Söder, who is networked at all levels of his party like hardly anyone, ignored that. Both have known each other for a long time, in JU times more than 25 years ago, Mayer was with the supporters when Söder wanted to become state chairman.

Now Söder has to find a new general in a short time.

It's not just about telegenic appearances, but about organizing the state election campaign that is crucial for Söder.

Söder wants to appear in front of the press this morning and explain himself.

It is uncertain whether he will present a successor.

If it is someone who promises "really good momentum", Söder will probably take a very close look this time.