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Tuesday May 12, 2020
Heinsberg’s so-called study uses a location in NRW to investigate the spread and consequences of the coronavirus. She is accompanied by a public relations agency. A small war broke out between the state government and the SPD. Both act quite awkwardly.
It is one of the first major studies of the coronavirus in Germany: the so-called Heinsberg study uses the example of the village of Gangelt to investigate the spread and consequences of the pathogen Covid 19. But the scientific results are not only controversial, but They have been overlapped for some time by a debate over the public relations agency Storymachine’s accompaniment of former editor-in-chief “Bild” Kai Diekmann. And the discussion about it is increasingly unpleasant for NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet.
Because when it came to the question of how long the state government had known about public relations support, if not about instrumentalizing the study, the statements are at least flexible. And the SPD opposition is trying to find a tangible scandal here. The question remains latent deep down: was it really just a research paper or should it justify the loosening of the crown measures, which Laschet has attempted?
Now “Contrasts” magazine reports that the state government had been informed of the Storymachine company’s public relations activities since early April, contrary to its earlier statements. It is based on a response from the state government to an SPD request. This indicates that the state government was in the picture in the “launch of the corresponding Facebook page”, as well as the public.
“The statement is simply wrong”
According to the magazine, the “Heinsbergprotokoll” page was created on April 3. The first entry, which was created three days later, states that the goal of the study is to create a factual basis for the Federal Government to resolve possible relief measures or measures. The page tentatively ends on May 4, the day the researchers from Bonn virologist Hendrik Streeck presented their results. Meanwhile, the timing of the injury is running and it’s not necessarily in favor of the state government. And it is no longer about scientific production.
The magazine “Contrasts” notes that on April 19, about two weeks after the Facebook support was activated, Laschet said he did not know which public relations company accompanied the study and to what extent. For the parliamentary director of the SPD parliamentary group, Sarah Philipp, an emotion: “From what it seems, the statement is simply wrong that the state government does not want to know anything about it. In any case, I do not think so,” he said in the Dating magazine and tweeted himself.
According to the SPD response, Laschet knew at least the name of the agency. In his defense, one can refer to the further progress of responding to the request. There he says that the State Chancellery “has no influence on the specific structure of scientists’ public relations work.” Should I have been informed of the details of public relations work? After all, the state funded the study with more than 65,000 euros, but not the public relations work.
State Health Minister Karl-Josef Laumann says: “I think we have nothing to do with the issue of this public relations support as a state government; at least for my ministry, I can rule it out.” If you want, you can at least see a tentative sales move. By the way, she only found out about public relations support for the study on April 9. Curious: Laumann responded to the SPD’s request in “agreement with the Prime Minister”.
The state government views the magazine in Laschet’s earlier statements and the response to the SPD’s request “expressly without contradiction.” It was also more a matter of emphasizing that state government “had no influence on the specific form of public relations work.” So is it all a misunderstanding or the result of Laschet’s somewhat imprecise statements?
The case inevitably evokes distant memories of the “note affair”. Five years ago, as a professor at RWTH Aachen University, Laschet had given more than 30 students grades based on their memories and grades after they missed a stack of tests. The fact that not everyone who received the scores has also written the exam, a curious side effect. That was agreed, Laschet said. Possibly a misunderstanding in communication, a university spokeswoman said. “Mr. Laschet feels he has broadcast that he will do this.” At the time, there were no winners at the end: Laschet’s engagement at the university ended a little later, and the students had to provide new exam certificates.
