Bavaria’s ruling Christian Social Union faces new challenge
Via Stefan McDaniel at First Things, an Economist article on Bavaria
This is a worry not only for local-history buffs but for the Christian Social Union (CSU), which has governed Bavaria alone for 46 years, establishing what one scholar called “a political dominance unequalled by any other party” in post-war western Europe. Shrewd economic and social policies are part of the CSU’s success. The CSU, moreover, established itself as the embodiment of a regional patriotism—stronger south than north of the Danube—that fuses Bavaria’s thousand-year history with (mainly Catholic) Christianity and a sense that it is to be envied for its Alpine scenery and economic success. Bavaria styles itself a Freistaat, a “Free State”, rather than a mere Land.