A childhood marked by violence

Gloria-Sophie Burkandt, the 27-year-old daughter of Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder, has given a raw account of severe school bullying in the second episode of the ProSieben documentary series "Born Famous - Fluch oder Segen". She says she was physically attacked by classmates and resorted to wearing shin guards to cushion the blows. The psychological toll was equally heavy.

“Children can be vicious and I experienced the worst form. The humiliations, what my soul went through, is of the finest kind.”

Her father, who appears alongside her in the programme, acknowledged the gravity of those years. "Gloria has not had an easy path," Söder said, recalling moments at school where "it was not clear how things would turn out."

Anorexia and family strain

Burkandt also revisits her battle with anorexia, a subject she had made public earlier. She describes a period of self-starvation with blunt regret.

“I was so stupid at that time that I ate nothing.”

Her parents and her foster grandparents, with whom she largely grew up because her mother was a single working parent, suffered deeply during that phase, she says. The documentary shows Söder urging her to eat during a shared meal of dumplings in Munich, remarking that she lives "vegan and model-like all year" and only gets proper food with him.

A complicated father-daughter dynamic

The series lays bare a relationship that both describe as distant. Burkandt labels their occasional lunches a "question-interrogation game". She repeatedly says she wishes for more time with her father, while Söder, who has three other children with his wife, frames their encounters as "quality time".

“There are often moments when I think, I want to spend more time with my father. I'm used to it.”

Söder makes little secret of his misgivings about her career choices. Burkandt has put her doctoral thesis on hold and is working on a book about how young people communicate, using phrases like "the energy is weird" that her father admits he does not understand. He tells her plainly that he would prefer a more conventional path.

“Something steady would always be preferable to me. Always earn decent money, be able to pay a good pension.”

Söder's red lines and grandfather dreams

Beyond career advice, the 59-year-old CSU leader draws a political boundary with characteristic humour. He says he tries not to get upset about everyday comments, but adds a caveat.

“If it were life-threatening, if she were ill or something, or if she were with the Greens or the Left Party, that would really shock me.”

Söder also turns his gaze to the next generation. He tells the camera he would like to become a grandfather one day and, when pressed on how many grandchildren he wants, replies: "I would find many great."