Friedrich Merz used a speech to the CSU party conference in Munich on Saturday to urge unity between his CDU and the Bavarian sister party, framing it as essential to counter threats from extremists and foreign powers.
Addressing about 1,000 delegates in the city’s exhibition halls, the chancellor said the Union was under attack from “extremists on the far left and the far right” and warned that Russia was seeking “to destabilise Germany on a daily basis” . He singled out the far-right AfD, accusing it of working to abandon Ukraine, spread Russian narratives, and isolate Germany, and reiterated that anyone voting for the AfD “has no place in our Union” .
The call for cohesion came as the CSU publicly backed its own candidate for the federal presidency, with party leader Markus Söder pushing Bavarian state parliament president Ilse Aigner for the role. Merz opened his speech by naming Aigner immediately after Söder, prompting a standing ovation from delegates . Yet he did not address her candidacy directly, leaving his position unclear despite the CSU’s clear signal .
Merz also used the platform to press for domestic reforms, telling delegates that changes to healthcare, pensions, and social systems were overdue and urging the coalition partner SPD to accelerate agreed measures . He confirmed plans to lower the electricity tax next year, saying “if it is possible—and I think it is—the electricity tax must come down so people have more money in their pockets” .
Söder presented Merz with a model rocket from Bavarian startup Isar Aerospace as a symbolic gift, joking that it could be used “to aim higher” and suggesting it should stand in the Chancellery . The gesture underscored the public harmony between the two leaders, even as tensions over the presidential candidacy simmered behind the scenes.
