Maischberger: “What Mr. Drosten did today was not right”

SUBWAYWith the corona pandemic and climate change, Sandra Maischberger had two oversized themes at once for her show. The two guests he had invited for individual interviews brought the necessary focus. NRW Prime Minister Laschet issued a cautious warning with a view to the early fall of Corona, but otherwise did not commit to anything specific. The presenter thought it was “cool” at first, but then “too diplomatic.”

Forest engineer Peter Wohlleben naturally saw climate change from a forestry perspective and explained that the giant fires in California and the drying out of German forests are linked to global warming.

In between, moderator Jörg Pilawa, science journalist Christina Berndt, and journalist Hajo Schumacher at the commentary table cleared a whole host of current exciters with surprising unity, including clear words for Christian Lindner and Friedrich Merz.

The reminder of the night

When asked how he values ​​the current number of infections, Armin Laschet, once known as a pioneer in the field of relaxation, found words of caution: “The situation is tense, I think you have to be very careful now. Above all, you should tell people that the rules still apply. So no one should feel too safe now. “

Anyone who ignores this should expect hefty fines. The principle of zero tolerance applies, Laschet emphasized, referring to a wedding in Hamm with around 600 guests, which appears to be responsible for a major outbreak, but where lists of participants are still lacking. “We will have to live with the pandemic for a long time,” Laschet predicted and campaigned for a “local brake from the Crown” to make social life possible where there is no danger.

Laschet to Söder and Merz

By shifting the subject to internal competition for the CDU party presidency and the chancellorship, Laschet lost clarity and made some evasive attempts. When asked about Markus Söder’s crisis management in Bavaria, he replied at least after the first question, albeit a bit condescending: “Breakdowns can happen to anyone. I think he did a good job. “

He preferred not to evaluate his poor results in the polls in the race for the party leadership. Nor did he want to judge the testimony of Friedrich Merz, who, when asked if he had reservations about a homosexual chancellor, replied that as long as it is within the framework of the law and is not about minors, it is not a public matter. The discussion is.

Many had criticized homosexuality’s direct reference to pedophilia and violation of the law, including Laschet’s co-candidate for the CDU presidency, Jens Spahn. At Maischberger, Laschet said: “I think that in 2020 the question of who loves whom and how should no longer be discussed.” However, he does not believe that Friedrich Merz is homophobic, he goes too far.

The candidate’s question of the night

In the end there was also time for the chancellor’s question. Then Maischberger asked if he wanted to be. And while Laschet quickly began to explain that it was initially about the party presidency and that whoever the head of the CDU is must also be willing to be chancellor, two of the commentators ensured clarity.

Jörg Pilawa: “Mr. Laschet just said that he would like it, if he understood correctly.” Hajo Schumacher: “I got it too.”

The unity of the commentators and the criticism of Drosten

The table of the three commentators was extraordinarily harmonious, but still entertaining. They agreed on the following points, among others: Fear does not help in the fight against Corona; FC Bayern bosses sitting too close together in the stands send a bad signal to the population; The latest plans by the EU Commission to reform the asylum system are anything but a breakthrough. And Friedrich Merz’s statements about the alleged danger that Germans had gotten used to work are condescending.

And then the leader of the FDP, Christian Lindner, said goodbye to his outgoing secretary general Linda Teuteberg a few days ago with the unfortunate ruling that in the last 15 months they had started the day some 300 times together, due to the morning phone calls. , however, and not from others. Reasons one could imagine.

At first, Schumacher had only a whimper left over this “old 80s joke” (Pilawa), but then he found clear words: “Rainer Brüderle was in 2012, we could have learned a lot from that.” Christina Berndt also considered it horrible, but she meant by that not only the joke, but also Lindner’s speech before him. “A swan song for a woman who was involved in this party, that he no longer wants, and where he only clarifies this farewell from his yo-yo-yo perspective.”

Another statement drew criticism from around the world. Berlin virologist Christian had said: “The pandemic will only really start now. Even with us ”. Germany’s success to date in fighting pandemics can be traced back to the fact that Germany reacted about four weeks earlier than other countries. The statement was made public Wednesday, but it came from August, as the ZDF virologist later made clear.

“Fear always provokes a reaction that can be counterproductive”

In any case, Jörg Pilawa criticized the virologist for his statements: “What Mr. Drosten did today was not right.” He regards as risky the claim that Germany has done nothing better than neighboring countries. “This takes this moment of responsibility away from people.”

He spoke clearly against causing fear or panic. “Fear always provokes a reaction that can be counterproductive.” Personal responsibility worked very well in Germany.

Forests and climate change

Förster and author Peter Wohlleben finally brought up an entirely new topic. The occasion: dry forests in Germany and forests on fire in the United States. “Climate change is now exposing all the mistakes,” Wohlleben said, referring to man’s manipulative interference with nature.

Established plantations, such as spruce forests in Germany, turned out to be particularly less resistant to rising temperatures, but now made up the largest proportion of the area. It is estimated that between ten and 30 percent of our forests are intact, that is, there are no plantations.

And that’s not all: Wohlleben’s forecast is that half of Germany’s forest areas could be lost in the next ten years. “But if we take a step back, things can go back to developing properly,” Wohlleben said. The forest always returns as long as humans don’t manipulate.

And humans urgently depend on forests for water storage and cooling systems, especially in times of climate change. “If the German forests were in the right place, we would have estimated about three degrees lower daily maximum temperature this year. It would have rained more in Germany. “