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The crown situation threatens to spiral out of control. Politicians are calling a very important meeting on Wednesday. But a common line between the federal and state governments is a long way off.
The head of government of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, expects “a difficult case”. Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder expects “great success”. And the head of the Chancellery, Helge Braun, predicts a debate with a “historical dimension”.
When prime ministers meet with the federal government for the Corona summit in Berlin on Wednesday at 2 pm, the whole world is clear: something has to happen. The number of infections is increasing considerably, not only in large cities, but also in rural areas. In some places, health authorities can no longer trace the contacts of infected people. The cold season is just beginning, the numbers have to go down. And in the clearest and fastest way possible. Everyone sees it that way.
But that was it with the unit.
How exactly you want to push the numbers, there is more disagreement than there has been for a long time. The result could be an even bigger jumble of crown rules, which even the most well-intentioned will no longer understand. And, consequently, nobody pays attention anymore.
The “opening discussion orgies” and what after
Strictly speaking, uniformity has not been long. The initial hitch of the federal states largely ended in late April. At that time, Angela Merkel spoke of “opening discussion orgies”, in which countries were not really interested, they kept opening up.
Sometimes Markus Söder put the accent on Bavaria, sometimes Armin Laschet on North Rhine-Westphalia. Sometimes one had to withdraw, sometimes the other. From time to time other countries joined them, mostly ignoring them and doing what they saw fit.
And when there was a new federal-state meeting, it was strongly emphasized that uniform measures were desirable. It’s the same again now. The only problem is that the situation seemed to be under control between April and September.
Reclaimed uniformity
Why affirming and swearing uniformity is no longer enough is particularly evident in the dispute over the accommodation ban. Should people at the Corona hotspot in Bremen in neighboring Lower Saxony only get a bed if they can show a negative Corona test?
At the federal-state meeting last week, at least eleven of the 16 federal states thought it was a good idea. Others did not see it at all. Which led to the fact that Brandenburgers can now spend the night in Berlin (and become infected there), but Berliners cannot easily escape from Corona’s hotspot into the vast Brandenburg area. Yet at the same time, many people commute between the two federal states.
And not only the German national tourism is affected, which politicians had promoted a few weeks ago as a good alternative to travel abroad. In Karlsruhe, a hearing at the Federal Constitutional Court had to be postponed on Tuesday on short notice. For an unholy reason: those involved in the process in Berlin were not allowed to spend the night there due to the accommodation ban. Therefore, the judges started at 12 noon instead of 10 a.m., so that everyone could arrive and leave the same day.
This is the crux of the accommodation ban: what one country decides for itself has an impact on all others.
“Pretty stupid talk”
Bremen, Thuringia, Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia did not participate from the beginning. In the face of tremendous criticism from the tourism industry, the hospitality industry and local associations, other countries are moving away from the accommodation ban. Rhineland-Palatinate is ready to revoke the regulation, a t-online spokeswoman said. The Saar is open, Hamburg was never really enthusiastic. Even Markus Söder no longer insists on regulation.
So is the ban falling?
Strong resistance comes from northern Germany. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig announced in several interviews on Tuesday the rule with which her state had achieved great success. Schleswig-Holstein head of government Daniel Günther, who is considered the father of the idea, told the “FAZ”: Now to rant about “small states” and a “patchwork quilt”, consider “pretty stupid talk. “.
If necessary, even on your own
The “big hit” that Söder wants, making it extremely questionable when it comes to the accommodation ban. Therefore, the Bavarian Prime Minister has already moved forward and put a possible alternative success into play. On Tuesday he came out in favor of an expanded mask requirement across Germany. For example, in public places, public buildings or elevators. Private parties should also be closed.
More restrictions, in the most uniform way possible and everywhere. These are considerations that also have the approval of other state chancelleries. At least in principle. Many have already done so. In the Bremen hotspot there is a mask requirement in public places where it gets tight, a curfew, contact restrictions and upper limits for celebrations. Private parties are also limited in North Rhine-Westphalia. Rhineland-Palatinate also wants to introduce a strict party rule: 25 participants, maximum, either at home or in the restaurant.
If necessary, even on your own.
And that’s exactly where uniformity could get tricky. Because when it comes to details, opinions differ. It doesn’t matter how dire the situation is. When in doubt, each sovereign wants to decide for himself on his measures. And the fact that regions with fewer cases need more than just access points may be well justified.
A cornucopia of measurements
Therefore, it is conceivable that the federal and state governments agree on a host of measures that everyone can use. So in a frame, that’s what it used to be called. The question will again be how large this framework must be for all measures in countries to fit within it. And what the frame is worth.
It would probably be a success if one could at least agree on the most binding steps possible if a region becomes a hotspot – that is, the limit of 50 new infections per 100,000 people is broken in seven days. With the eleven largest cities, it was a huge success last week. But the numbers don’t just increase there anymore.
Will it really come to that? Fully open. Therefore, it is quite possible that the Chancellor and the Prime Minister will see each other again very soon or connect.
