When Söder became First Minister in Bavaria in 2018, supporters thought he was hard working, confident and determined, but opponents were more likely to say that he was power-hungry, arrogant and ruthless. Söder was known to be a good speaker, nonetheless the campaign ads in 2018 made friends and foes cringe, because he tended to overplay the Bavaria-is-best card (“Bavaria is strong. Bavaria is beautiful. Bavaria is successful. Bavaria is stable. Bavaria is a way of life.” There’s more but you get the idea.). Attempts to sound humble also tended to go terribly wrong. His long lasting and often public rivalry with the previous Bavarian First Minister, Horst Seehofer, suggested he was a typical alpha male rather than a team player.
Since the Corona crisis, however, even Söder’s critics have to admit that he has handled the situation well. The south of Germany was hit hardest by the virus, and Söder became the first of the local premiers to introduce a lockdown. When going public with tough decisions, he had facts and figures at his fingertips, but didn’t sound lofty nor lost himself in technical detail. He often looked bleary eyed from lack of sleep, yet was calm and focused. Doubts and criticism of his decisions were countered with convincing arguments and quiet determination. Unlike before, he sounded sincere when thanking his cabinet colleagues and the public. Since the crisis he seems to have mutated from an ambitious party apparatchik into that rare thing – a responsible, capable politician. Now they all want him. But who is he?
Markus Thomas Theodor Söder was born in 1967 in Nuremberg. His father was a builder who had a small firm. Education was regarded as a privilege by his parents, so Söder worked hard and excelled at school. (Being from the north of Bavaria, Söder is a Protestant. – In modern-day Germany this seems rather irrelevant, but in his case, and in regard to his possible success in national politics, it may not be.) Söder joined the Bavarian conservative party CSU when he was sixteen. The veteran CSU politician, Franz Josef Strauß, was his hero and a huge influence. As a teenager Söder admired Strauß so much that he put a poster of him above his bed. Apparently more than one of his girl friends found the large picture of Strauß a bit of a turn off. It’s easy to laugh at this anecdote of the young Söder, but any video footage of the arch conservative Strauß tends to wipe the smile of my face.
Söder studied law and did a PhD. Afterwards he worked briefly as university lecturer and later as an editor for the BR (Bavarian radio and TV). He started his political career in the youth organization of the CSU which he headed for 8 years. He later had various ministerial positions in Bavarian Cabinets (Minister for European Affairs, Minister for Health and Environment, Finance Minister). Since 2018 he’s been First Minister of Bavaria.
Söder has been accused of being a populist and he certainly doesn’t shy away from controversy or populist policies. These may well be part of a strategy to become known and talked about. Söder has stated repeatedly that when you start out in a new position you might be insecure and rather “strident”, but that you become more mellow with time. This strikes me as a calculated excuse for Söder’s more “strident” moves like the re-introduction of crucifixes in all public buildings shortly after he became First Minister. This new rule caused a public outcry and drew much criticism even from heads of both Christian Churches. Predictably, the clamour soon died down and now the new law is mostly quietly ignored.
Like Strauß, Söder is an arch conservative. He was an outspoken opponent of Turkey becoming a member of the EU, and advocated Grexit during the financial crises in Greece. He’s been against a minimum wage and wants to weaken the legal protection against dismissal. He has also argued that people on unemployment benefit should not get money for holidays. Shortly after Söder became First Minister, his government proposed a substantial change in the legal framework within which the (Bavarian) police can operate (Polizeiaufgabengesetz). The bill allows the police to act on suspicion rather than evidence of a potential threat and includes methods like phone tapping and online surveillance. The proposed bill caused a storm of protest and was widely criticized, even by the police. About 30 000 people came to Munich to demonstrate against it. Unfazed by the huge protest, Söder pushed the bill through a few days later.
Occasionally, Söder can seem like a more modern and liberal conservative, like when he tried to further increase the quota for women in his party (and failed). During the current crisis he has been much less aggressive towards opponents and critics than he used to be. He appears to be willing to listen to people and empathise with their problems. He also tends to appease everyone by promising much change and money. Promises which might be difficult to keep.
As any good politician would probably do, Söder has so far denied any interest in becoming Angela Merkel’s successor. Although being chancellor would seem to be the pinnacle in any German politician’s career, Söder might actually be less enthusiastic than one would think. More than one Bavarian politician crashed and burned in Berlin or has been far less successful than at home. The very characteristics that make them successful here (edgy, arch conservative, enthusiastic Bavarian patriots) tend to cause friction and hearty dislike in Berlin. It might also be easier to look good as the First Minister of wealthy and (so far at least) thriving Bavaria than as the chancellor of an increasingly struggling Germany.
Söder would probably be a far better chancellor than any of the current four CDU candidates. He has proven himself to be good in a crisis. Like Merkel, he is intelligent and extremely hard working. Unfortunately, he is also a classic law and order politician who abhors any ideas he considers leftish.