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Why is Bavaria’s premier singing with ABBA on stage during an official visit to Sweden?

Bavaria's state premier Markus Söder has been making headlines during a visit to Sweden. It begs the question: why is he there? And why is he on a stage with hologram versions of the pop legends ABBA?

Published: 23 February 2024 12:08 CET
Bavarian premier Markus Söder on stage at ABBA The Museum in Stockholm during an official visit to Sweden.
Bavarian premier Markus Söder on stage at ABBA The Museum in Stockholm during an official visit to Sweden. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sven Hoppe

It’s a must-do for anyone visiting Stockholm. 

The ABBA Museum tells the story of the famous four and even lets visitors experience what it’s like to be on stage with them. 

That’s exactly what Bavarian state premier Markus Söder did on an official visit to Sweden this week. 

“I’m a huge ABBA fan,” the politician, who’s the leader of the Christian Social Union (CSU) – the Bavarian sister party of the CDU – tweeted on Thursday with pictures of himself at the museum. 

“I’ve loved listening to their music since childhood and still do today. ABBA are unique artists. They are among the greatest in the world. My favourite song: Dancing Queen.”

It’s no wonder that Söder became a Dancing Queen on the stage at the museum, leaving many in Germany open-mouthed (and a little confused). 

Despite being a staunch conservative (the CSU is a traditional centre-right party), the politician is known for indulging his silly side, opting for elaborate fancy-dress costumes – including Shrek and Homer Simpson – during Fasching (carnival) – and drinking beer at Bavarian folk festivals. 

Showcasing this part of his personality seems to work well for him. Shortly after tweeting the video of himself dancing and singing with ABBA on X, formerly Twitter, it had been viewed by tens of thousands of people, received well over 1,000 likes and hundreds of retweets. Not bad for a German regional politician. 

Apart from what some would call a PR stunt with his favourite band, Söder has been doing a lot of high profile networking during the three-day visit. 

He met with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson as well as defence ministers. 

And on Thursday, Queen Silvia of Sweden welcomed him to the royal palace in the centre of Stockholm.

Söder said the appointment was a “great honour”.

A reception from the Queen is unusual for a regional state leader and other politicians outside of a national government.

However, Queen Silvia does have close ties to southern Germany, including Bavaria.

The Queen was born in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg in 1943, and the 80-year-old met her husband, Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf, at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich.

Markus Söder meets Queen Silvia from Sweden on Thursday.

Markus Söder meets Queen Silvia from Sweden on Thursday. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Sven Hoppe

The royal couple have visited Bavaria together, while Queen Silvia last visited Bavaria in 2023 for the opening of a new building for the World Childhood Foundation, which she founded.

On Friday, Söder was set to conclude his trip with a visit to the space centre in Kiruna in the far north of Sweden.

‘Brothers in Arms’

The question remains, though – why is Söder on an international visit in the first place?

One main topic for Söder is defence policy. 

With fears that Russia will expand its war in future, Söder is in favour of reintroducing compulsory military service in Germany in the next “five to seven years”, and voiced interest in hearing about the Swedish model as well as other defence topics.

PODCAST: Why Germany is getting ‘war ready’ and the growing citizenship backlog

“We have to make a plan immediately to strengthen the Bundeswehr,” said Söder during his visit, calling for more funding from the government to the German army. 

He said Bavaria welcomed Sweden’s entry into NATO, adding: “We are Brothers in Arms.”

The CSU leader also agreed to form a joint government commission with Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson. The aim is to have a regular exchange around once a year on specific topics such as technology, economics and energy.

Overall, Söder is clearly having a successful diplomatic trip, raising questions that he could be planning to stand for the German chancellorship in future – a point that has come up a few times in the last few years since former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) stepped down. 

READ ALSO: Why Bavaria does politics differently to the rest of Germany

He might want to re-think his small talk, though, if he has ambitions of rising up further on the political and world stage. According to Bavarian regional broadcaster BR24 he described the weather in Sweden as “Arschkalt” (bloody cold) during his visit to the royal residence. 

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ECONOMY

‘Turning point’: Is Germany’s ailing economy on the road to recovery?

The German government slightly increased its 2024 growth forecast Wednesday, saying there were signs Europe's beleaguered top economy was at a "turning point" after battling through a period of weakness.

Published: 24 April 2024 17:53 CEST
'Turning point': Is Germany's ailing economy on the road to recovery?

Output is expected to expand 0.3 percent this year, the economy ministry said, up from a prediction of 0.2 percent in February.

The slightly rosier picture comes after improvements in key indicators — from factory output to business activity — boosted hopes a recovery may be getting under way.

The German economy shrank slightly last year, hit by soaring inflation, a manufacturing slowdown and weakness in trading partners, and has acted as a major drag on the 20-nation eurozone.

But releasing its latest projections, the economy ministry said in a statement there were growing indications of a “turning point”.

“Signs of an economic upturn have increased significantly, especially in recent weeks,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said at a press conference.

The ministry also cut its forecast for inflation this year to 2.4 percent, from a previous prediction of 2.8 percent, and sees the figure falling below two percent next year.

READ ALSO: Can Germany revive its struggling economy?

“The fall in inflation will lead to consumer demand — people have more money in their wallets again, and will spend this money,” said Habeck.

“So purchasing power is increasing, real wages are rising and this will contribute to a domestic economic recovery.”

Energy prices — which surged after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine — had also fallen and supply chain woes had eased, he added.

Several months ago there had been expectations of a strong rebound in 2024, with forecasts of growth above one percent, but these were dialled back at the start of the year as the economy continued to languish.

‘Germany has fallen behind’

But improving signs have fuelled hopes the lumbering economy — while not about to break into a sprint — may at least be getting back on its feet.

On Wednesday a closely-watched survey from the Ifo institute showed business sentiment rising for a third consecutive month in April, and more strongly than expected.

A key purchasing managers’ index survey this week showed that business activity in Germany had picked up.

And last week the central bank, the Bundesbank, forecast the economy would expand slightly in the first quarter, dodging a recession, after earlier predicting a contraction.

German Economics Minister Robert Habeck

Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) presents the latest economic forecasts at a press conference in Berlin on Wednesday, April 24th. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Michael Kappeler

Despite the economy’s improving prospects, growth of 0.3 percent is still slower than other developed economies and below past rates, and officials fret it is unlikely to pick up fast in the years ahead.

Habeck has repeatedly stressed solutions are needed for deep-rooted problems facing Germany, from an ageing population to labour shortages and a transition towards greener industries that is moving too slowly.

“Germany has fallen behind other countries in terms of competitiveness,” he said. “We still have a lot to do — we have to roll up our sleeves.”

READ ALSO: Which German companies are planning to cut jobs?

Already facing turbulence from pandemic-related supply chain woes, the German economy’s problems deepened dramatically when Russia invaded Ukraine and slashed supplies of gas, hitting the country’s crucial manufacturers hard.

While the energy shock has faded, continued weakness in trading partners such as China, widespread strikes in recent months and higher eurozone interest rates have all prolonged the pain.

The European Central Bank has signalled it could start cutting borrowing costs in June, which would boost the eurozone.

But Habeck stressed that care was still needed as, despite the expectations of imminent easing, “tight monetary policy has not yet been lifted.”

In addition, disagreements in Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party ruling coalition are hindering efforts to reignite growth, critics say.

This week the pro-business FDP party, a coalition partner, faced an angry backlash from Scholz’s SPD when it presented a 12-point plan for an “economic turnaround”, including deep cuts to state benefits.

Christian Lindner, the fiscally hawkish FDP finance minister, welcomed signs of “stabilisation” in the economic forecasts but stressed that projected medium-term growth was “too low to sustainably finance our state”.

“There are no arguments for postponing the economic turnaround,” he added.

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