Bavarian leader Markus Söder questioned on Friday whether Germany should participate in the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest.
But unlike several other European countries, he's not critical of Israeli participation - but Europe's reaction to it.
"When I see how people in Europe are discussing boycotting the ESC, the European Song Contest, because Israel is participating, I say to my friends, if they don't want to do it, then we won't do it either.
"We never win anyway, we just have to pay for everything," he said during his keynote speech at the conservative Christian Social Union party conference in Munich.
Söder was responding to the announcement by several countries - including Ireland, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Spain and Iceland - that they did not want to participate in next year's Eurovision in Austria because Israel was allowed to participate.
"We stand by Israel," said Söder.
LATEST POSTS
- 1
Polls open in tense Uganda election amid widespread delays - 2Pick Your Favored kind of sandwich
- 312 times rockets and spacecraft crashed and burned in 2025
- 4Kona SUV: The Courageous Minimized That is Catching Hearts Around the world
- 5Practice environmental safety in Style: Divulging Famous Electric Vehicle Brands
- Vote In favor of Your #1 Compelling Female Producer
- Ancient fire discovery marks significant milestone in human history
- Iconic iceberg turns blue, on verge of totally disintegrating, NASA says
- As nations push for more ambition at climate talks, chairman says they may get it
- I traveled to 13 countries in 2025. This small island nation surprised me the most.
- 5 Morning Schedules That Stimulate Your Day
- Underestimated Metropolitan Experience Urban communities On the planet
- It's been 20 years since MTV's golden couple split. These producers saw it all unravel.
- Climate change is straining Alaska's Arctic. A new mining road may push the region past the brink
