Monday

Daniel Gunther skipped. The Prime Minister from Kiel left the CDU party conference before the final and preferred to go to a football game.

He wasn’t in the stands when the group of prime ministers were with him Friedrich Merz and Markus Söder sang the national anthem. By leaving early, he avoided having to stand up and cheer for his little-loved brother from Bavaria.

Söder’s speech, 46 minutes long, was a highlight of the party conference because the head of the CSU was able to speak more clearly about the election loser, the SPD, than the chancellor, who was committed to the coalition compromise.

CDU party conference: Söder’s appearance as the highlight

The thousand delegates reacted enthusiastically, and Merz thanked them for the “rousing speech”. Günther had spared himself this success from his rival.

The head of the Schleswig-Holstein delegates, often ridiculed as “Comrade Günther”, had left his party alone and traveled from Stuttgart to Munich. There he organized a ticket in the VIP stand at FC Bayern Munich.

He enjoyed the prominent company at the home game against Frankfurt. While Söder was celebrated in Stuttgart, Günther bowed to CSU greats such as Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär and Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann.

FC Bayern, Söder and the political symbolism

The man from Kiel obviously felt comfortable around Bayern grandees Uli Hoeneß and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge as well as national heroes like Bastian Schweinsteiger and Michael Ballack.

The winning atmosphere in the Allianz Arena may have helped him to suppress the fact that his hometown club Holstein Kiel only attracts attention through series of defeats. The reports about Söder’s triumph in Stuttgart must have reached him, even though he skipped the final.

Tuesday

The ballot papers are larger than some tables. Many voters spread them out at home because they want to sort their votes in peace. Before the local elections in Bavaria, which will be decided on March 8th, it is expected that a record number of voters will have already voted by postal vote.

It is possible that more than half of Bavarians will take advantage of the opportunity to exercise the generous selection rights in the comfort of their own home.

The parties are prepared for this. Citizens are increasingly telling them at information stands: “I’ve already voted.” One of the reasons for voting at home is the Bavarian local electoral law. For some citizens it is too complicated. Others are excited about the choices. The most extensive offer and therefore the largest ballot paper is in the state capital Munich.

Voting rights in Munich: 80 votes for 80 city councilors

Because there are 80 city councilors to be elected there, each voter has 80 votes. Around a thousand candidates apply for it. Unfolding the square-meter-sized ballot paper in the voting booth is a first skill exercise. The second round follows after you have distributed your crosses and have to hand the giant paper back properly.

If you want to keep it simple, tick your favorite party at the top and give each candidate on the list a vote. But he could also favor individual favorites by giving them up to three votes.

More democracy through individual voting

I am one of those who enjoy this opportunity to choose.

For a few minutes of effort, voters have the chance to exercise more democracy. He has the right to change the order of the candidates on the lists and does not have to swallow what the parties put in front of him.

FOCUS founding editor-in-chief Helmut Markwort was an FDP member of the Bavarian state parliament from 2018 to 2023.