Bavarian CSU seeking better relations with ally Merkel as they plot election path

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Bavarian CSU seeking better relations with ally Merkel as they plot election path

By Joern Poeltz

REUTERS

 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Bavarian state premier and CSU leader Horst Seehofer arrive for a meeting to discuss their differences over refugee policy in Munich, southern Germany, February 5, 2017. REUTERS/Michael Dalder

 

MUNICH (Reuters) - The leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Bavarian allies called for improved relations in their troubled conservative alliance on Sunday as the sister parties met to plan a strategy to defeat a resurgent Social Democratic Party (SPD) in September's federal election.

 

Horst Seehofer, leader of Bavaria's Christian Social Union (CSU), sister party to Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has been a thorn in her side for much of the last two years, pressing for a cap on migrants that she will not support.

 

But a spectacular revival in the Social Democrats' fortunes, after they appointed former European Parliament president Martin Schulz as party leader a week ago, is forcing the conservative "Union" allies to bind together if they are to hold on to power.

 

"Victory always comes where unity prevails," Seehofer told reporters ahead of a meeting with Merkel.

 

Merkel has carved two days out of her schedule - Sunday and Monday - to spend meeting the CSU in Munich, underlining the importance she places on improving relations.

 

Seehofer played down differences between the two conservative parties over migrant policy, saying: "The CSU has always put its own accent on one point or another."

 

Seehofer's push for better ties with Merkel's CDU came after an opinion poll earlier on Sunday showed a lead in voter support for their conservative alliance over the centre-left SPD had shrunk to a multi-year low of 4 percentage points.

 

The SPD scored 29 percent in the survey published in newspaper Bild am Sonntag - a six-point jump that Bild said was the biggest pollster Emnid had ever recorded for the party.

 

Support for the CDU/CSU bloc fell 4 points to 33 percent.

 

A prime concern for Seehofer has been holding on to the CSU's absolute majority in Bavaria in a regional election in 2018, when he is worried about losing votes to the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD).

 

(Reporting by Joern Poeltz; Writing by Paul Carrel; Editing by Andrew Bolton)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-02-06