Merz and Söder: Summit show on the Zugspitze with an unexpected incident!

Merz and Söder: Summit show on the Zugspitze with an unexpected incident!

Friedrich Merz, the new Federal Chancellor, climbed the Zugspitze today, marking his inaugural visit to Bavaria. At 9:12 a.m. he was ceremoniously received at Eibsee by Prime Minister Markus Söder. Despite cloudy weather and cool temperatures in the high mountains - only 2 degrees above - Merz and Söder were confident about the topics of the planned cabinet meeting. “Harmony and respect” are Söder's leitmotifs with which he wants to ensure that Bavaria is adequately represented in Berlin. Bild explains that the reception by 400 mountain riflemen and a band that played the national and Bavarian anthems underlines the importance of this visit.

Against the impressive backdrop of the Zugspitze, which is considered the highest mountain in Germany, Merz and Söder rode together in the gondola to the summit station, where other members of the Bavarian cabinet and journalists were waiting. A somewhat unpleasant incident occurred when a mountain rifleman fell over during the ceremony and paramedics had to be called. Merz didn't miss the opportunity to ask about the man's well-being, which underlined the human touch in the official events. In the afternoon at 12 p.m. the two gentlemen are scheduled to hold a press conference to publicly share the results of their deliberations, as BR reports.

Important topics in focus

The agenda includes important topics such as energy policy, transport connections, future technologies, election of judges and migration policy. A central issue is the controversial electricity tax, about which Söder notes that the communication in this regard was “unfortunate”. In the discussion, Söder emphasized that many of the announcements from Berlin do not do justice to the facts, as the reduction in electricity taxes will not reach all citizens. Meanwhile, Green Party politician Katharina Schulze made disparaging comments and described the summit as a “superficial PR campaign” that was not in the spirit of a long-term solution.

Another relevant point in the discussions is the border controls ordered by Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. The discussion about this led to a certain amount of nervousness, as Söder's Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann reacted annoyed to the constant "moaning and nagging". SPD politician Anke Rehlinger called for more intelligent approaches instead of border controls. Söder encouraged Merz not to be deterred when it comes to migration policy.

Bavaria as a pioneer in renewable energies

Bavaria occupies an outstanding position, particularly in energy policy. According to a report in the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Bavaria is considered the “German champion in the expansion of renewable energies” and has set itself the goal of doubling the use of renewable energies by 2030. The strategy aims to further promote the photovoltaics boom in Bavaria. At this point it becomes clear that Söder is not only looking at current challenges, but also to the future and is planning concrete measures to implement the energy transition.

The upcoming exchange on these topics is of great relevance for the Bavarian state government and could be decisive for the future direction of the political whole of Bavaria and Germany.