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Armin Laschet has long been viewed by many in the Corona debate as a supporter of a soft course. But on Monday he took the lead among those who warned against a premature relaxation debate.
“At the moment there is no space to open discussions,” said the new CDU leader after the debate at the party’s presidium in Berlin.
The reason for the warning: due to the fall in the number of new infections, the director of the Institute of German Economics, Michael Hüther, argues that at least it is necessary to discuss whether a country in central Europe with open borders could not also have a incidence of seven days out of 100 have to live.
Even if the federal government strictly rejects this, the head of the Chancellery, Helge Braun, actually a supporter of the harsh measures of the crown, and the Prime Minister of Rhineland-Palatinate Malu Dreyer in ARD spoke in ARD that they were already talking of a relaxation strategy.
At first glance, this may seem counterintuitive, because Chancellor Angela Merkel and Prime Ministers Braun and Dreyer warn of the danger of spreading mutant viruses. Merkel described the tightening that went into effect in many federal states today as a “precaution.”
But so far it has been lost in the debate that the federal-state resolutions of January 5 were only possible because the Prime Minister insisted on a passage according to which an opening strategy should be drawn up in mid-February.
WHEN WILL THE OPENINGS COME?
The simultaneous hardening and relaxation of the debate is difficult to convey, but it describes the contradictory situation in Germany: Schleswig-Holstein Prime Minister Daniel Günther (CDU), for example, is very aggressive in convening this opening debate.
This is not surprising, because its federal state has a seven-day incidence of 94.1, so it feels less pressure than, for example, Thuringia, where the corresponding value is higher than 200. Several municipalities in the north already register a incidence value below 50. Günther is finding it increasingly difficult to justify why schools and shops should remain closed.
In fact, the head of the Chancellery, Braun, had therefore proposed a catalog of criteria that was as objective as possible, which linked a certain tightening -or relaxation- to incidence values. The link to the numbers should also protect against too quick steps towards openness, and include those who absolutely want a normalization perspective. Only the political reality is more complicated.
For one thing, polls show that many German citizens would like to have regulations at the national level rather than a patchwork of different measures across countries or even districts. On the other hand, Braun warns that the risk of opening too early is that the numbers will rise again after loosening up, and that at a stage where highly contagious virus mutants are spreading.
The government spokesman, Steffen Seibert, therefore underlines what incidence is linked to what relaxation is part of the difficult talks. An opening strategy must in no way lead to a “yo-yo effect”, an “open-close-open-close”, as has been experienced in other EU countries.
But the pressure from lobbying associations does not only increase on business every day when the number of new infections is below the value of the respective previous week. The head of the CDU, Laschet, wants to at least resist the pressure to name dates in the opening debate. Understandably, many were geared toward ending the lockdown on February 14. But the example of Ireland has shown how quickly developments in a country can roll over, Laschet says. Therefore, no promises should even be made for March, April or May.
WHAT WILL BE OPEN?
The question of where to relax is not much simpler. It is indisputable that schools and nurseries are opened first. But from then on, opinions differ enormously.
In fact, there is already a patchwork quilt because states have implemented joint resolutions with the federal government differently: In states like Rhineland-Palatinate, face-to-face classes are still available, albeit to a limited extent. Baden-Württemberg wants to allow primary school students to go back to school in early February, although the state is far from the incidence of the 1950s.
Chancellor Merkel also refers to the difficult task of weighing what should open after schools, citing retailers and hairdressers as examples. The fact of the matter: even with the relaxation after the first wave, politicians had the experience that the courts can ensure that the opening course goes much faster than planned.
“Because when an area is opened, there are immediate complaints from others that now they have to open the doors again,” a government representative told Reuters. That actually speaks in favor of loosening well below the incidence of 50. “Only politically you are not going to be able to hold out,” he says in government circles, disillusioned with the countries. (Reuters)
