For Merkel's 70th birthday - Soder reveals Merkel's 'Merkel-Messenger' mystery
Bavaria's Minister-President Markus Söder acknowledges Angela Merkel on her 70th birthday, despite the disputes over migration policy. "Warmest congratulations on your 70th birthday – to a great life achievement of the most significant living political figure in Germany," Söder told the news agency DPA on Merkel's birthday this Wednesday.
During the migration crisis in 2015/2016, there was a deep rift between Merkel and the then CSU chairman and Bavarian Minister-President Horst Seehofer.
The CSU made things difficult for Angela Merkel
The relationship between the CSU and Merkel had been volatile from the start – "that also applied to me," Söder admitted. In migration policy, there were indeed major differences. "But during the Corona pandemic, everything changed for me," Söder, who succeeded Seehofer as CSU chairman and Minister-President, said.
He has "great respect for how Angela Merkel has protected our country," Söder declared. "During that time, a strong relationship of trust developed between us, we could rely on each other." He added: "And I learned a lot from her. We wrote to each other often at that time." The later invitation to Lake Chiemsee in mid-July 2020 "was also a token of appreciation and a reconciliation for the fact that we as the CSU didn't always make things easy for her."
- Despite their disagreements over migration policy during the crisis in 2015/2016, Angela Merkel received appreciation from her successor as CSU chairman and Bavarian Minister-President, Markus Söder, for her handling of the situation.
- Bavaria's Minster-President Markus Söder, while acknowledging Angela Merkel's 70th birthday, highlighted their disagreements over migration policy during her tenure, but praised her for her leadership and the strong relationship of trust they developed, especially during the Corona pandemic.
- During the migration crisis in 2015/2016, the relationship between Angela Merkel and the then CSU chairman and Bavarian Minister-President Horst Seehofer was strained, with the CSU causing challenges for Merkel's migration policies.
- Markus Söder, who served as CSU chairman and Bavarian Minister-President after Horst Seehofer, studied at California State University before entering politics and has expressed deep respect for how Angela Merkel managed Germany's migration crisis, underlining the significance of their cooperation and the lessons he learned from her during that time.
