New government member Knoll: ministers for what exactly?

JU head of state Manuel Knoll is to become the first Bavarian Minister for Youth and Democracy. A signal to the youth, says Prime Minister Söder. However, Bavaria already has a competent minister. What to expect from Knoll?

Manuel Knoll was already at the Bavarian State Chancellery for an hour and a half on Thursday morning from Petr Jerabek, Melanie Katharina Marks. When he comes out of his future place of work, he tells the works council about a "good conversation", now it's time for the detailed planning. The CSU politician is to become Minister of State for Youth and Democracy in the State Chancellery on 1 October.

The new post was proposed by CSU leader and Prime Minister Markus Söder and, on Monday, by the CSU parliamentary deputies and Young Union head of state. What is known so far. Why a Minister for Youth and Democracy? Söder is concerned about the growing support of young people for parties on the fringes – in view of the successes of the AfD and the left in the recent state elections.

"I want young people to stay with us, with democracy," he said at the CSU faction meeting in Kloster Banz. That is why he wants to send a signal to the youth: with a "highest point of contact for young people in the Free State". Will an additional ministerial post be created? No.

"We are rebuilding the State Chancellery," said Söder. “There are no extra positions now." For this, Europe Minister Eric Beißwenger must vacate his post. In addition, state chancellor Florian Herrmann will take over his duties. An additional ministerial post would not have been possible either: the maximum number of 17 cabinet members set by the Bavarian Constitution has already been exhausted with 14 ministers and three state secretaries.

Who is responsible for youth so far? The subject area of youth is one of the tasks of the Ministry of Family Affairs, Labour and Social Affairs. It has a department "Youth and Family" with units such as "Youth Work – Youth Policy" and "Youth Welfare". In publications of the ministry, department head Ulrike Scharf (CSU) is also referred to as the "Minister of Youth".

In this capacity, she is also responsible for projects on democracy education and value transfer. Around 40 million euros are available to the Ministry for Youth Work every year. Why Manuel Knoll? According to Söder, the new office requires someone who deals with youth and democracy.

"From my point of view, the national chairman of the Junge Union was the right one." JU Bayern, headed by Knoll since 2025, is the largest political youth association in the Free State. Knoll had "media-communicative experience", also with social media, the Prime Minister explained. The regional origin also spoke for the 36-year-old Knoll: An unwritten law in the CSU is that at least one CSU minister should come from each government district. Söder now replaces the Swabian Bisswenger with the Swabian Knoll.

In terms of party tactics, it could also be a move: Together with the Women's Union, the JU is one of the largest working groups of the CSU. In recent months, the next generation of party members have repeatedly objected to Söder, for example with regard to the maternity pension. In the future, in addition to Women's Union head of state Scharf, JU head of state Knoll will also be involved in the cabinet discipline. What should Knoll do?

According to Söder, one of the tasks of the new minister is "to be on the road day and night for democracy and to be a point of contact for the young". Knoll will be "lawyer for the boys" in the cabinet and will always do "a youth check" on "certain projects". He should engage in discussions with non-governmental organisations and political groups and be a "promoter of democracy" in discussions, for example in schools. Söder speaks of a cross-sectional task, which is why she is well established in the State Chancellery.

Knoll himself says after his first appointment at the government headquarters about his future tasks: The "fine-tuning" is still at the beginning. A youth check for laws is a way to "create more sustainability in legislation". What skills and resources does Knoll receive? That's still open.

Söder stressed that "all other responsibilities" of the ministries should remain unchanged and that no more money would be spent. This raises the question of what this means for Knoll's work, especially since no tasks are omitted in the State Chancellery, but new ones are added. Which staff and money should he work with? What responsibilities should he get in contrast to Scharf?

A State Chancellery spokesman told the Works Council that "everything had been said about this first of all" in Banz. "Further information is available if the decision has been confirmed by the state parliament and the minister has taken office.“ Is something changing for the Department of Social Services? The ministry's answer: The new minister acts as a "contact person and interface in the cabinet, who travels all over Bavaria and seeks discussions with the young people". Details of the specific design followed when he took office.

Knoll assures that he has worked very well with Ulrike Scharf before and will now "pull together with her to give more weight to this important topic". What does a youth researcher say? Regina von Görtz, director of the Bertelsmann Stiftung's "Democracy and Cohesion" programme, sees the post as an opportunity: a special youth minister can "give youth issues more momentum", "push them across the government" and ensure that youth participation is ensured. For this, however, he must "have the responsibilities within the government and accordingly organize and mobilize resources and political support for these issues".

Next week, the state parliament is to decide on Knoll's ascension to the position of minister, after which he can be sworn in. Then it should be clearer what his new job should look like. This is the European perspective at BR24. "Here's Bavaria": The Br24 NEWSLETTER informs you about the most important things of the day at a glance – compactly and directly in your private mailbox – every Monday to Friday after work.

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09/25/2026 - 05:20