
Bavaria's State Premier and leader of the conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) Markus Soeder (C) speaks flanked by General Secretary of the Bavarian conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) party Martin Huber (L) and German Minister for Research, Technology and Aerospace Dorothee Baer after being reelected during a congress of the Christian Social Union (CSU) party on December 12, 2025 in Munich, southern Germany. Soeder has been confirmed in office with only 83.6 percent approval, his worst result to date at the CSU party conference in Munich. In the last election two years ago, Soeder won 96.6 percent of the delegate votes. (Photo by Alexandra BEIER / AFP via Getty Images)

