An "Amigo affair" with black felt and dubious deals had cost the Prime Minister at the time, Max Streibl, his office in 1993.
A good 30 years later, an equally unsavory affair with CSU connections in Bavaria is also being politically processed by an investigative committee.
This time it's not about sponsored private vacations in Brazil for a CSU minister, but about lucrative mask deals that are expensive for the taxpayer at the beginning of the corona pandemic.
In addition to well-connected “Amigos” with CSU party membership and connections to the then CDU-led Federal Ministry of Health, “Amigas” with well-known names also play the leading roles in the “Mask Affair”.
How did the daughter of the former CSU General Secretary Gerold Tandler manage to pocket the incredible commission of almost 50 million euros for a Swiss company to broker masks and protective clothing to the health ministries of North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and the federal government?
Her friend, the Strauss daughter and CSU politician Monika Hohlmeier helped to initiate contact – just to save lives, as she assured the committee.
After the resignation of his general secretary Mayer and the allegations of plagiarism against his successor Huber, the "mask affair" a year before the state elections is another burden for the CSU.
You can almost feel sorry for Markus Söder.