As of: February 22, 2024, 4:21 p.m
By: Florian Naumann
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A working visit to Sweden inspires Markus Söder to have a lot of pop appeal - at the same time he feels "fear" of Putin.
And conscription solutions.
Stockholm/Munich – Markus Söder's social media postings before his trip to Sweden expressed a certain amount of anticipation.
Bavaria's Prime Minister now seems to be turning his trip to the north into a kind of motto trip: On the one hand, pop.
On the other hand, military.
Surprisingly, Söder sometimes even linked the two topics together.
There should also be a touch of pomp on Thursday (February 22nd) with a reception with Sweden's Queen Silvia.
And then there is space travel, another of his favorite topics.
However, the visit from Bavaria initially met with remarkably little interest in the Swedish media.
Söder visits Sweden – Bavaria’s Prime Minister feels “fear” of Putin
In terms of content, the double whammy of pop and military concerns makes perfect sense.
When it comes to pop, Sweden has been a pioneer for decades.
The Scandinavian country has also recently gained momentum in military matters.
The war in Ukraine and threats from Russia have caused the Swedish “Home Guard” to experience an upswing again.
At the same time, Civil Protection Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin recently warned: “There could be war in Sweden.”
Söder also met him now.
The guest from Bavaria was keenly aware of Sweden's concerns about Vladimir Putin.
“You feel directly threatened by Russia,”
Bild
quoted Söder as saying after an appointment with Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson.
“There is a fear that it could start across the Baltic Sea at any time.”
Compulsory military service is high on Söder's agenda: Sweden's concept is not convincing after all
The CSU boss apparently got suggestions on Thursday (February 22nd) regarding compulsory military service: Söder asked about this topic, among other things, at the joint morning briefing, tweeted the German ambassador in Stockholm, Christina Beinhoff.
Söder later made an appeal directly to Germany.
“In the end, I think Germany cannot avoid real conscription,” he said after the meeting with Bohlin and Defense Minister Pål Jonsson;
Both, like Söder and Kristersson, are conservatives from the EPP party family.
A “big solution” is needed.
At the turn of the year, Bavaria's Prime Minister had already spoken out in favor of compulsory military service for at least seven months.
At the political Ash Wednesday, Söder supported the demand.
Now he also demanded the delivery of Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine.
Sweden and Germany “Brothers in Arms” – Söder balances between conscription and ABBA
However, Söder was not convinced by the Swedish conscription model, from which he had hoped for suggestions in advance, as
BR24
reported.
Although the variant is “exciting”, it is not suitable for “inciting enough people to voluntarily join the Bundeswehr”.
Hence the emphasis on “real” conscription.
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A big heart - and tough military topics: Markus Söder in the Abba Museum in Stockholm.
© Sven Hoppe/dpa/picture-alliance
Nevertheless, Söder praised the cooperation with the new NATO partner - on Monday Hungary could finally pave Sweden's way into the alliance.
Germany and Sweden are “brothers in arms,” he said.
So brothers in arms.
But this is probably also a pop culture allusion;
a Dire Straits hit had this title.
Söder had previously visited the ABBA Museum in Stockholm.
And with a playback interlude it provokes both encouragement and disturbance.
In any case, Söder's own enthusiasm is probably genuine: ABBA can be found again and again in his "SöderSongs" playlists, and not just since the trip to Sweden.
Söder is also interested in Sweden's space travel - but there is little interest in the media
Söder's trip to Europe's north continues until Friday.
According to the State Chancellery, the program also includes a visit to the “Esrange Space Center” in Jukkasjärvi, north of the Arctic Circle.
But it's less about “Bavaria One” fantasies than about concrete economic cooperation: “Like Bavaria, Sweden is an important location for aerospace, which is why cooperation makes a lot of sense,” Söder had emphasized in advance.
So it could be a certain boost for Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters).
He recently had to listen to criticism from the CSU for his lack of desire to travel.
Söder's visit is likely to be of interest to the local economy.
So far, however, the Swedish public has not been thrilled: there have been no major media reports about the delegation from Bavaria.
And unlike Söder, Kristersson, Bohlin and Jonsson initially refrained from posting photos together on Twitter.
But there was at least a public welcome from the cabinet: Sweden's Foreign Minister Tobias Billström had assured on Wednesday: "We are very much looking forward to your visit!" However, he was now in India.
(fn)