Horst Seehofer, leader of the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU), has been a thorn in Merkel’s side since 2015, with criticism of her decision to open German borders to almost 1million migrants and refugees, most of them fleeing war in the Middle East.
However, the CSU’s disastrous performance on Sunday – its weakest since 1950 – has raised questions about whether he should stand down as party leader and interior minister in the national government.
The calls grew louder yesterday, with a senior member of the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), the junior partner in Merkel’s coalition, calling Seehofer “miscast” as interior minister and a senior CSU figure suggesting he should step down.
Seehofer dismissed the idea of resigning, telling a news conference his work in politics “is fun”.
He said that the CSU, sister party to Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU), would act as a stable force in her ruling “grand” coalition.
“I have no inclination at all for minority governments, or fresh elections and everything that can come with them,” he added.
“This grand coalition must simply get on with reputable work and communicate it properly. In the CSU, we will do everything for the grand coalition to stay,” Seehofer said.
Thomas Oppermann, a senior member of the SPD, described Seehofer as behaving like a “hooligan” as interior minister and said he was miscast in that role.
Seehofer was to blame for the coalition’s poor image, he said.
CSU honourary chairman Theo Waigel also suggested Seehofer should go: “Everyone has to decide for themselves how to make a graceful, personally responsible departure from politics,” he told the Ausburger Allgemeine.
Before the Bavaria vote, the CSU pushed the coalition – Merkel’s fourth and probably final government – close to collapsing twice, first in an argument over immigration and then in a scandal over Germany’s former domestic spymaster.
The CDU/CSU conservative alliance only teamed up with the SPD to form the ruling coalition in March following an inconclusive national election and the collapse of negotiations between the conservatives and two smaller parties.
