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Angela Merkel has been sitting next to the heads of government of the federal states for more than six hours this Wednesday, when the chancellor dictates a devastating verdict. “I’m not satisfied,” she says according to the participants. The results “are not hard enough to avoid disaster.”
It’s a dramatic announcement in what is probably the toughest and most contested Prime Minister’s Conference since the start of the crown pandemic. At this time, Merkel was already working with the other top politicians. The mask requirement, the contact restrictions, the curfew – all the things that should prevent the infection process in Germany from spiraling out of control.
But what is ultimately on the seven-page paper is obviously not enough for Merkel. He wants to talk about everything again. Spend more time. In the end, it is around 10 pm when the group finally comes to an agreement, after more than eight hours of discussions and discussions.
Shortly after, the Chancellor sat in front of the waiting journalists at the Chancellery with a broken voice. What worries him, says Merkel, is the exponential increase in crown numbers. You have to stop it. “Otherwise, it won’t end well.”
The number of infections is increasing
Merkel has always been one of the warning signs of this crisis. In the summer months, however, it was literally submerged. Now go back on the offensive. For good reason.
In many places in the republic, the number of infections is increasing rapidly again. On Wednesday, the Robert Koch Institute reported 5,132 new infections in 24 hours. Just a few days ago there were less than half. There are more deaths per crown again. The economy groans.
In winter, when public life changes even more indoors, things could get a lot worse, experts fear. Merkel sees it that way too.
Therefore, the announcements of his allies in the fight against the pandemic were clear. The debate in the prime minister’s group has a “historical dimension”, Foreign Minister Helge Braun said the day before. It was “five minutes to twelve,” warned the Bavarian CSU Prime Minister Markus Söder.
First personal meeting in months
The meeting at the Berlin Chancellery should in itself be a warning. For the first time in almost four months, the heads of government are again sitting face to face. Söder, Armin Laschet and all the others.
The fact that they went to Berlin of all places for this made some feel baffled in advance. After all, the capital is a hotbed for viruses, a risk zone within Germany. From Thuringia it is said that the state chancellery has investigated the responsible health department: What does the trip to Berlin mean for Bodo Ramelow? Is it necessary for the prime minister to be quarantined after his return to Erfurt? The answer: no, no problem. After all, Ramelow is not staying at Merkel’s house.
But the sign of the personal encounter is clear. A real course correction must be made, after which people in the country have to adjust again to stricter rules and restrictions. At least according to the will of the chancellor. The message: it’s serious.
But this Wednesday it is quickly clear that a quick understanding will not work. The atmosphere is tense from the beginning. Non-Union heads of government are upset that they only received the draft resolution for the Foreign Ministry conference on short notice, later than their conservative colleagues.
Failed intervention
Much more important, however: the main differences in the fight against Corona are now clearly emerging again. The dispute between advocates of the toughest possible protection measures and representatives of a less strict line has shaped discussions in recent months. The result: different rules and requirements apply throughout the republic, and the situation has become increasingly confusing. More recently, the Prime Minister of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer, had warned of “hysteria” at SPIEGEL. These are statements that Merkel probably does not like to hear at this point.
It’s extremely difficult, you hear over and over on Wednesdays from all over the world. At 5 p.m., three hours after the talks began, not a single essential detail had been agreed upon. At 7 pm there is dinner first.
Merkel’s frustrated intervention ultimately contributes little. Apparently, not much has changed in the resolution made at the time.
Faster and stricter rules
First, the document definitely means that the stricter measures will take effect more quickly. The main component is a kind of traffic light system. The idea: if the infection chains in a region exceed certain limit values, the restrictions will come into effect in stages, from now on, when at least 35 people per 100,000 inhabitants are infected in an average of seven days.
In this case, a “supplemental mask requirement” should be applied in public space in affected areas if people congregate closer together or for longer. The number of participants in the events would be even more limited, a curfew is recommended in restaurants. However, heads of government cannot agree on specific values. Celebrations with family and friends are limited to 25 people in public and 15 in private rooms.
Journalists waiting in front of the Chancellery
Photo: Michael Kappeler / dpa
If the number of new infections per week amounts to 50 per hundred thousand inhabitants, a curfew is applied from 11 pm in the catering industry, only ten people are allowed to meet in public spaces, the Private celebrations are also limited to ten participants and two households, only events are included a maximum of one hundred participants are allowed. The mask requirement will be expanded.
The current plan is now one of the last stages of escalation before the new lockdown.
Ten day ultimatum
In any case, the decision contains a true ultimatum. It literally says: “If the increase in the number of infections does not stop within 10 days at the latest by virtue of the measures mentioned above, it is inevitable that more specific measures will be taken.” In concrete terms, this means that only five people or members of two households can stay together in the public space. That would partly recall the situation in the spring, when Germany stopped.
The deciding factor is that the new rules apply across the country and are intended to eliminate the much-criticized patchwork quilt in the republic. But apparently this is only partially successful. The heads of government are not repealing the extremely controversial rules on the accommodation ban, which apply in many federal states, but not all. However, just postpone this until November 8. Until then, each state will continue to do its thing.
For Merkel, this is the biggest defeat. She believes that travel could be a decisive factor in the spread of the virus. There is still a lot of work to do, he later told reporters.
At his side are the ruling mayor of Berlin, Michael Müller, and the prime minister of Bavaria, Markus Söder, who recently had some violent skirmishes in the Corona dispute. From Munich’s point of view, the people of the capital were often too negligent during the crisis, like other state governments, which Söder repeatedly scoffs at.
Today the “prudence and caution of the team” has prevailed, says Söder at the press conference. It also doesn’t stop with the bad little things tonight.
