“It will be a bitter election campaign”

Created: 11/25/2022, 06:00

By: Hans Moritz

Applause for Social Affairs Minister Ulrike Scharf, who is running again for the state parliament, from Mayor and district parliament candidate Max Gotz, second vote applicant Gerlinde Sigl and CSU district chairman Martin Bayerstorfer (from left).

© Hans Moritz

The Erdinger CSU quartet for the state and district elections in October 2023.

There were some surprises.

Oberbierbach – The CSU quartet for the state and district elections in October 2023 is set: As expected, Social Affairs Minister Ulrike Scharf is running for the state parliament, the second vote applicant is district master craftsman Rudolf Waxenberger.

Franz Hofstetter no longer competes in the district elections and leaves the field to Erding's Mayor Max Gotz - surprising for many.

It was even more unexpected that Gotz suddenly had an opponent in Alexander Otto Klug.

The CSU put the former mayor of Lengdorf, Gerlinde Sigl, on the list.

None of the four should have been really satisfied with the results.

Scharf received eleven no votes and three abstentions and ended up with 93.6 percent.

Even Waxenberger did better with 94.7 percent.

Alexander Otto Klug from Langenpreising, who was conjured out of a hat just one day before the delegates' meeting - almost 180 had come to the Gasthof Strasser in Oberbierbach - chased 58 votes from Gotz, who then only got 65.2 percent.

19 party friends voted against Sigl, which corresponded to 88.8 percent.

District chairman Martin Bayerstorfer had previously asked the CSU to unite: "Today it's about sending a clear signal." The election will be anything but easy, but a special challenge.

"We can only do this successfully together," emphasized the chairman.

As for the candidates, he spoke of an “irresistible offer to the voters”.

They are rooted in the population and can "get many votes".

The host and mayor's spokesman, Hans Wiesmaier, also tried to get the delegates carried away: "It's about something.

We have to be successful next time.

We want, can and must win this election.”

Sharp's re-nomination as the first vote candidate came as no surprise.

Bayerstorfer recalled her many years of work in the district council and her successful time as Minister of the Environment from 2014 to 2018. According to Bayerstorfer, Scharf managed the food scandals successfully.

And today she occupies "very important subject areas" in the Minister for Social Affairs, Labor and Family.

In her application speech, she confessed that she "felt inner excitement".

The time of increasing crises is a "severe test for democracy".

She clearly rejected the resurgence of racism, extremism and, last but not least, anti-Semitism.

Scharf went into her involvement in the constituency, including the newly introduced youth consultation hours, but also the recent tough negotiations about citizen income when she represented the Free State in Berlin.

“The SPD has forgotten the top performers.

Earning must come before distribution.” In the area of ​​asylum policy, she called on the federal government to provide significantly more places in federal real estate.

With regard to the state elections, she said: "It will be a test of our unity and fighting power." She expects a "tough and bitter election campaign".

It came as a surprise to a number of delegates that Franz Hofstetter no longer ran for district council.

As his successor, Bayerstorfer announced a "local political heavyweight" - Erding's Mayor Max Gotz.

After that, Langenpreising's third mayor, Leo Melerowitz, went to the microphone and suggested Alexander Otto Klug, who was not particularly well known even in the party.

While this later presented itself as a democratic alternative and announced that it would again enter into dialogue with citizens, Gotz relied on his experience.

He "lives and loves local politics", is a networker and works closely with the district, especially in housing construction.

This office requires not only "the will, but also the ability".

As expected, Gotz prevailed in the end – with 111 votes to 58.

For Sigl, it is the second list candidacy at district level - in 2018 she had already convinced many voters outside of the Erding constituency.

Given the poll numbers, the chances are not too good.

After all: you could not take away the good mood.

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