According to Söder, no return to drastic anti-corona measures

CSU boss Markus Söder wants his party to be an anchor of stability in Germany in the current crisis situation. These are serious times again, said Söder on Friday at the beginning of the CSU party conference in Augsburg. "But it is all the more important that we give the population support and hope in times of maximum uncertainty."

Söder said that the CSU party congress should send signals about what the CSU expects from the traffic light coalition in Berlin, what they can do themselves and how they imagine Bavaria's future. Söder particularly emphasized the improved relationship with the sister party CDU: CDU and CSU would “work together especially in difficult times”.

The party congress is influenced by the state elections that will take place in Bavaria in a year's time. The Christsozialen want to set the course for this in Augsburg. Söder, who is also Bavarian Prime Minister, said that there will be difficult times for the people of Bavaria in the coming months. In a comparison of the German federal states, however, the Free State is in a better position.

“As Bavaria, we will do better than others because the substance is stronger, because our possibilities are greater.” He will ensure “that Bavaria remains by far the strongest state in Germany. We are number one and we will remain so, we will show that together.”

In addition, Söder ruled out a return to drastic coercive measures in the fight against the corona pandemic. “We will no longer close off in winter. No way,” said the CSU leader at the start of his party conference speech.

"Corona has changed. The corona of today is not the corona of the beginning of the crisis," said Söder. "We are on the way from pandemic to endemic," he emphasized. Everyone can now decide for themselves whether they want to wear a mask. Söder announced that the state government would also aim to relax the quarantine regulations.