The Influencer King of Bavaria: Markus Söder and the sinfully expensive fairy tale of the hard worker#
Welcome to Bavaria, the first and only federal state in the Federal Republic of Germany to be officially governed by a full-time content creator. While the rest of the nation grapples with mundane things such as realpolitik, dilapidated infrastructure or real legislation, the Munich State Chancellery has established a brilliant, alternative form of government: Why laboriously solve complex problems when you can instead simply have yourself photographed with half a Hendl or a cute dog for Instagram?
At the centre of this permanent production is Markus Söder, who acts as a tireless "doer" and patron saint of the "hard-working people" at every suitable and inappropriate opportunity. But if you look even slightly behind these expensive filters, the house of cards of Bavarian modesty collapses. The shirt-sleeved tackler quickly becomes a master of tax-funded self-staging, whose work ethic in parliament shines primarily through refusal to work.
The €218,000 smile at government expense#
Let's start by squandering public money on egocentric picture book PR. When Markus Söder mimics the economical caretaker of the nation in a beer tent, who turns every penny, it is pure real satire. The sober figures of the Bavarian State Chancellery tell a completely different story: in 2022, an incredible 178,618.13 euros were thrown out the window for the fees of freelance photographers alone.
Söder spends a fortune on his private profile maintenance at state expense. But a flawless face for the camera does not fall from the Bavarian sky, of course. That is why tens of thousands of euros are also being invested in make-up artists. Söder's justification for this tax money orgy? This is "contemporary" communication. Apparently, democracy is only saved if the Prime Minister bites into a bratwurst in 4K resolution and perfectly powdered.
The Phantom in Parliament: Making Blue as a Political Concept#
What is the relationship between real, hard work and the colourful Insta show? Söder continuously stylizes himself as a strict foreman of the nation. But his parliamentary attendance list reads like the testimony of a notorious school truant. In 2022, the Bavarian Prime Minister was absent from no less than 25 of a total of 30 plenary sessions in the Bavarian state parliament.
While MPs brooded over finances, Söder preferred to attend PR appointments. While the opposition mockingly remarked that a normal employee would have long since received the dismissal for this systematic "blueness", Söder continued to unabashedly collect his parliamentary diet in addition to his lavish prime ministerial salary. The demand that he should at least pay back the diets for his absence, of course, faded into nothingness.
The Updated Dictionary of Life Reality#
The absolute decoupling from the real world of work with a simultaneous permanent presence in the media has necessitated a long overdue redefinition of the most important Bavarian technical terms. Forget the old meaning – here is the true definition of Söder's life reality:
# södern: The majestic art of being exclusive to others all his professional life. It means sitting continuously in the professional politician's biotope since 1994, never having set foot in the uncomfortable, real job market away from the civil service, and having your own livelihood (including a personal photographer) completely financed by the taxpayer. To make the manoeuvre perfect, you stand in front of microphones on Sundays and teach the very citizens who pay for it all strictly about the meaning of "hard work".
# södernplus: The absolute master class in existential risk minimisation. For those who are still unsure about the simple # södern at state expense, a massive private safety net is built in: you simply marry into the industrial elite. Markus Söder perfected this move in 1999 by marrying Karin Baumüller-Söder. It is co-owner of the family business Baumüller Group. While the ordinary citizen pays good taxes to finance Söder's political diets, a global industrial company is enthroned in the family background, which generated around 310 million euros in sales in the 2023/24 financial year alone. In front of the cameras, you praise the frugality of the little man while sitting privately in the financial champagne bath of a multimillion-dollar corporate dynasty.
Conclusion: Doers or parasites?#
Is Markus Söder now a "blatant doer" or a political "parasite" that can be endured by the hard-working citizens? The empirical answer is soberingly clear: he is undoubtedly a doer – but primarily a PR-maker. He produces expensive pictures, crisp slogans and targeted outrage at the expense of the Bavarian state treasury.
Anyone who lets their Instagram career be so princely financed by the citizen (# södern), while through marriage they have drawn the ultimate family jackpot in an empire of hundreds of millions (# södernplus), has not only understood the concept of political double standards – he has elevated it to an absolute art form.