CSU chairman Markus Söder did a lot at the small party conference in Würzburg on Saturday to revitalize the CSU's old self-image as a Bavarian, beer tent and people's party.

At least in one place, however, the facade crumbled: the question often comes from the party: “Who are we?” The question of one’s own identity will actually arise in 2022 – and Söder shares responsibility for it.

This was not least shown in his speech.

Timo Frasch

Political correspondent in Munich.

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The party congress had a foreign policy focus.

It was mainly about the war in Ukraine.

The new CSU General Secretary Stephan Mayer, CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt, the CDU leader Friedrich Merz, who joined in for a greeting, as well as Söder accused the traffic light government of hesitation and hesitation.

Mayer said the traffic lights meandered and meandered, Söder compared them to a "light organ".

You can decide for or against heavy weapons, he said, but you have to decide.

Some in the CSU also invoked friendship with Putin

This should give the impression that there is a big difference between the positions of the CSU and those of the traffic light in Ukraine politics.

But there isn't.

One like the other "meanders" and "launders".

Or, to put it more positively: doubt.

In fact, the SPD has Russia networks, as Merz pointed out, but there are also grandees in the CSU who have long invoked not only the depth of the Russian soul, but also the friendship with Vladimir Putin.

On the other hand, there are people like the European politician Manfred Weber or federal politicians like Thomas Silberhorn, who have been campaigning for a tough course on Russia for a long time.

Söder walks in between.

Before the war he had been conciliatory towards Russia, saying he was "skeptical" about arms deliveries.

When the war of aggression became a reality, Söder tried to adjust his course so that it was registered without being noticed.

First he managed with jokes about the alleged incompetence of the defense minister - keyword 5000 helmets -, then he spoke out in favor of "more and faster arms deliveries", only to finally, in the "Münchner Merkur", state with concern, "now the next ones are already talking on further Leopard tank deliveries”.

With "this spiral" he has "not a good feeling".

On Saturday he did not praise the Greens for their final departure from pacifism, but made fun of Anton Hofreiter's actually curious rebranding.

He used to be a "permanent guest in the one-world shop", today he seems "more like the lobbyist of an armaments company".

Söder's attempt to cover up his own inconsistencies with the gesture of determination was not limited to foreign policy - he ran through the entire speech.

Just two examples: The Bavarian Prime Minister demanded tax relief for those citizens whom Horst Seehofer would have called the "little people" in the past, but gave no clue as to where the money for this would come from.

That, in turn, did not stop him from accusing the FDP of not consolidating the budget, as announced during the election campaign, and then honestly adding that that was "no reproach".

Söder offers the party and Free State history as an explanation

Second example: With a view to the president of the farmers' association present, Söder demanded that, because of the world food crisis, land set-aside to preserve biodiversity should be avoided, and not just until the end of the war, but permanently.

Mind you, this was what the politician demanded, for whom saving the bees was a main concern just three years ago.

Söder seems to be well aware of these contradictions.

For those who noticed them, he offered the party and Free State history as an explanation on Saturday.

"What characterizes this Bavaria and ultimately makes it so sexy is that everything goes together with us." That was actually true for the CSU.

But those were different times.

Not only did the party subscribe to the absolute majority at the time, it also had more people who knew how to succinctly represent the opposing currents.

And war and climate change were not as present as they are today.

The CSU is currently at 38 percent.

This is below their expectations, but not so bad compared to other parties and would probably save Söder in the 2023 state election.

By then at the latest, the question should be answered: Who are we?

A new basic program is currently being developed for this purpose.

What leaked out of it in Würzburg suggests less that the content of the CSU positions are being sharpened and intellectually underpinned, but rather that people are shifting their focus to life.

The tentative search for a new party slogan shows that this is not so easy either.

Franz Josef Strauss said: "We have to be able to move around on the caviar floor.

But we are at home on the Leberkäse floor.” Söder now varied: “The CSU is not the avocado floor, but the schnitzel floor.”

This could provoke the question not only in social networks: Which society should this represent?