The German public is accustomed to controversial statements by Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder of the Christian Democrats (CSU). His language often turns against not only his political opponents but also his own party colleagues, both from the Bavarian CSU and its sister party, the CDU. And his latest statement falls into that category.
At the beginning of the week, a session of the CSU parliamentary group in the Bavarian parliament was held in the picturesque Banz Monastery, north of Bamberg.
There, Söder called for Germany to have fewer federal states than the current sixteen in the foreseeable future, and for some of them to be merged. He warned that "larger administrative units are more successful than smaller ones," although he did not specifically name the states for which he sees no future. Only one thing is clear - his Bavaria, of course, will remain.
Zeder added that for him, the decisive factor is that the new division of the federal states should, above all, strengthen economic power. Because it has long been known that in financial redistribution, a system in which poorer states receive money from richer states, only four states are currently in the redistribution and are giving money.
These are the economically strong southern states of Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria, as well as Hesse and Hamburg with their lucrative port. All other states receive more or less money in the redistribution.
Bavaria pays the most
In the first six months of last year alone, these four states paid out more than eleven billion euros in aid to twelve less-favoured countries. Bavaria alone paid out around 6,7 billion euros, more than half of the amount.
These amounts have been similar in previous years, so Bavaria filed a complaint against the current model with the Federal Constitutional Court in 2023. The court has not yet ruled. The aim of the financial settlement is to ensure approximately equal living conditions throughout the country.
Bavaria was not always the main "sponsor". For many years it was a poorer agrarian province that received money from other parts of the old West Germany, for example from North Rhine-Westphalia, which until the 1970s was a strong mining and industrial area.
The Constitution states how the borders of the federal states can be changed: by federal law, i.e. by a decision of the Bundestag.
In fact, there have only been two such mergers, the first in 1946, before the federation was formed in its current form. The merger of North Rhine-Westphalia into one state was already a sensitive issue – primarily religious, due to the relationship between Catholics and Protestants at the time.
According to the law of the Federal Republic of Germany, mergers have only occurred once, in 1952. Then, Baden, Württemberg-Baden and Württemberg-Hohenzollern were combined to form what is now Baden-Württemberg.
Berlin and Brandenburg do not want to be together
The attempt in 1996 to merge Berlin and Brandenburg into one state had a slightly different legal basis. At first glance at the map, it seems illogical that the German capital, which is completely surrounded by Brandenburg, should be a separate state.
The plan required a referendum in both states, without a separate federal law. In Berlin, a narrow majority voted in favor of the merger, but in Brandenburg, 62,7 percent of voters were against. The project was subsequently abandoned.
There have been occasional discussions in recent decades about whether the northern states of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein should "swallow" the nearby cities of Hamburg and Bremen with state status. But everything has remained up for debate.
The Bavarians must be joking.
It is very possible that this will remain the case this time around. The premier of Saxony-Anhalt, Rainer Haselhoff (CDU), received Söder's statement with a touch of humor. Renewable energy is also coming to Bavaria from this state, which is rich in wind and solar power plants.
Hazeloff thus stated that "until the Constitution is changed, we promise that we will continue to show solidarity and that we will not leave Munich, the office of the Bavarian Prime Minister (Söder) and Bavaria without electricity."
It is particularly sensitive that state elections are being held in Rhineland-Palatinate this March, and Zeder would probably like to see it together with Saarland, a small state in the far west of Germany.
The CDU there is hoping to defeat the incumbent Social Democrats, and their main candidate Gordon Schneider is not thrilled with the statements of his Bavarian colleague, fearing that it could jeopardize his chances of victory. He simply snapped: "Larger administrative units, such as the Bavarian prime minister is demanding, do not solve structural problems."
Saarland's Prime Minister Anke Relinger of the SPD also spoke out. She said she had expected the "annual media debate" with Söder on the subject only on Ash Wednesday, after Carnival. In these speeches, politicians across Germany usually comment more freely and humorously on current issues. Relinger, after all, invited Söder to visit Saarland. The answer has not yet arrived.
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