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Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder is taking the lead in the face of increasing crown numbers, again. It is not the first time that he has been rushing and demanding stricter rules.
If it had been for Markus Söder: Tighter crown measures would already apply throughout Germany. When state leaders met in mid-November to decide on the so-called “breakwater blockade,” the Bavarian prime minister pushed for stricter rules, but did not enforce them. As a result, Bavaria was also limited, with the exception of some special regulations, to the joint decision of the federal and state governments. Until now.
Söder’s first criticisms of the resolutions
Because on Sunday, less than two weeks later, Söder again declared disaster in his state, tightened the rules and the tone. “It is not enough,” he said after a cabinet meeting. “Every four minutes a person dies in Corona Germany.” In Bavaria, New Year’s Eve celebrations will therefore be reduced and the relaxation of contact restrictions will be lifted immediately after Christmas.
That Söder was not particularly satisfied with the resolutions of the end of November in view of the high number of infections could already be read between the lines. The country’s document is a good “middle step,” but it remains to be discussed whether the relaxation after Christmas makes sense. He did not expressly rule out a greater adjustment. They are now available in the form of a general exit restriction.
The long awaited sign
Above all, the form of communication has changed. Söder not only dramatically outlined the deadly consequences of the current development on Sunday. Bayerischer Rundfunk political scientist Ursula Münch suspected that the timing of the press conference was probably not chosen by chance. Söder mastered “the methods of staging” and knew that a cabinet meeting at noon on St. Nicholas would attract “the attention of the public throughout the republic.” So the moment conveys urgency.
In fact, experts had recently overlooked such a national signal. The virologist Alexander Kekulé said in an interview with t-online, the measures no longer reached parts of the population. You have to do more persuasion. “It is important to make it clear to people: the situation is extremely serious,” Kekulé said. “But how is the citizen supposed to understand that when politics itself does not send a strong signal and not even the Chancellor and the Prime Minister can reach an agreement?”
“Black Friday” like there’s no pandemic
Instead, the past few weeks had shown signs of relaxation: While the number of infections barely declined and hundreds of deaths were reported every day, Christmas store business was in full swing. On so-called “Black Friday” at the end of November, the special offers drew so many people to the pedestrian zones that the police and the public order office often had to intervene. Shopping centers closed their doors in the rush. With announcements over loudspeakers, the security forces of Cologne, Bielefeld and Dortmund tried to guide people on a shopping tour outside the cities.
It is therefore not surprising that Söder is now receiving great support for his advancement. SPD epidemiologist and health expert Karl Lauterbach called for the Bavarian measures to be extended throughout Germany. He had already warned about the relaxation on New Year’s Eve: “Otherwise, we will have another 25,000 deaths by the end of January.” He told t-online that focusing on access points was no longer enough. “The next three months will be the hardest of the pandemic. Now we finally need to review the situation again. ”
Christmas relax on the brink
The state governments of Saxony, Hesse and Saarland probably see it in a similar light. The German Association of Cities and Municipalities and the Prime Minister of Thuringia, Bodo Ramelow even question relaxation for Christmas. Chancery Minister Helge Braun said that at least the federal government would be “there immediately” if the federal states were willing to do something about the hotspots.
Regardless of the opinion of the emerging majority that the pandemic situation cannot be controlled with current measures, the Prime Minister’s previously hesitant attitude has given CSU President Söder room to raise his profile. In March, the media had already written about Fernduell Söders with NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet, who is running for the CDU presidency and is therefore also a possible chancellor candidate for the upcoming federal elections. .
Fight for the chancellor candidacy?
Both federal states had to struggle with large local outbreaks at the time, leading to much higher death rates at hotspots than usual at this time of year. While Laschet always made sure to intervene as little as possible in everyday life with measurements and, for example, quickly reopened large furniture stores, Söder maintained the profile of a hard-hitter. Disaster, curfew, mask requirement – in Bavaria, a lot of things were applied from the start that seemed unthinkable elsewhere.
The dispute continues: While Laschet praises federalism and favors regional measures, Söder would have liked to see regulations at the national level long ago, like every second German citizen in polls. While Laschet wants to keep schools open with as few restrictions as possible, Söder repeatedly suggests that he might be willing to impose major restrictions, like every second German citizen.
The hard line used to lead to the assumption that it was actually Markus Söder who was positioning himself for the chancellor run. These speculations were fueled by the popularity ratings of the Bavarian prime minister, previously hardly thought possible. For months, Union voters deemed him fit for chancellor. Merz, Laschet, Spahn: Everyone only cares afterwards. They are miles away from Söder’s passing grades.
And this time too, Söder can move on in a tricky situation. Experts agree with him, approval comes from the municipalities, two-thirds of all citizens consider relaxation on New Year’s Eve to be wrong anyway, according to the WDR “Germany trend”. Since the federal and state governments have not yet been able to agree on tightening the measures, Söder is doing it himself, according to the signal. It is a situation that may suit you.
