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The recently resolved crown measures severely restrict daily life and are consequently massively criticized: Chancellor Merkel defended the rules in the Bundestag. She was interrupted several times by boos.
In a government statement on the crown crisis, Chancellor Angela Merkel called on all citizens to continue to be cautious and show solidarity in the pandemic. It depends on each and every individual, as well as the commitment, perseverance and consideration of all, Merkel said in the Bundestag.
In her speech, the chancellor defended the most stringent and recently resolved crown measures. The federal and state governments agreed to sweeping restrictions on public life in November on Wednesday: Contact restrictions and restaurant closures should make the number of infections manageable again.
“I understand the frustration”
Merkel described the new rules as “adequate, necessary, proportionate.” There is no softer means than constant contact restrictions to bring the infection process to a manageable level. It is about reducing contacts to an “absolutely necessary minimum” in the coming weeks.
Facing the closure of recreational and cultural facilities as well as gastronomy, the Chancellor said: “I understand the frustration, yes the despair, especially in these areas.” The many hygiene concepts that have been developed are not useless, they will be needed again later. But in the current infection situation “these hygiene concepts can no longer develop their strength”. He announced concrete proposals from Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Economy Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) to support the affected companies.
Merkel emphasized that the pandemic is testing society in several ways: medical, political, economic and social. Germany will only be able to counteract this with solidarity and the willingness to participate in a transparent exchange. The efforts of many citizens to date have deeply impressed and moved them. They can only overcome this difficult crisis with and for others.
“Freedom means responsibility”
In her speech, the Chancellor also took a position on the restriction of freedom rights through the new Corona rules. Freedom does not mean that everyone does what they want, according to Merkel. Freedom means responsibility. Those who behave inconsiderately are putting their fellow men in danger.
However, it is “correct, important and indispensable” that the measures are publicly debated, criticized and questioned on their suitability. Such a critical debate strengthens democracy. Only then can acceptance or contradiction arise.
The chancellor found harsh words for Covid 19 deniers: “Lies, misinformation and hatred not only harm the democratic debate, but also the fight against the virus.” The differences between true and false should not be erased. Human lives currently depend on reference to facts and information, Merkel said, thanking science, medicine and the public health service for their indispensable efforts in the pandemic.
At the end of her speech, Merkel emphasized: “The winter will be difficult, four long and difficult months, but it will end.”
Strong criticism from AfD and FDP
During her declaration of government, the chancellor was interrupted on several occasions by boos from the AfD ranks, who criticized both the content of the new measures and the lack of parliamentary participation in the decisions. The leader of the AfD parliamentary group, Alexander Gauland, accused the federal government of “war propaganda”. The daily “barrage of infection numbers” should scare people. A “dictatorship of the Crown in revocation” is not compatible with the free-democratic base order. “We have to weigh, also at the cost of people dying,” Gauland said.
The FDP also criticized the actions of the Federal Government, but specifically turned against the AfD. FDP MP Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann said on Twitter that one might disagree with the measures. “But you have to conduct a debate with respect. AfD has just been disqualified again.” FDP party chairman Christian Lindner said that the Bundestag could only take note of federal state resolutions retrospectively. This approach jeopardizes acceptance, carries legal risks, and threatens to “warp our parliamentary democracy.”
Bundestag participation
The leader of the SPD parliamentary group, Rolf Mützenich, commented that the SPD parliamentary group was first considering new legal barriers to the course of government in the pandemic. The Infection Protection Act can be specified more precisely. The Bundestag could receive new approval reservations. Reporting requirements could be added. “In essence, we want to create more legitimacy and flexibility.”
Chancellor Merkel nodded when Mützenich said that the legislature, that is, the parliament, is not alone, but is indispensable responsible for the decisions.
Did you act too late?
The Greens accused the federal government of acting too late. Co-parliamentary group leader Katrin Göring-Eckardt said she was under the impression that the federal government had forgotten “there is Corona” over the summer. The result is: “We are at a really critical point,” Göring-Eckardt said. The wave of new infections must be broken, so the measures now decided are the correct ones. “We basically agree with that.”
The left warned of the social consequences of the new crown rules. “It is also important for the acceptance of measures that are socially protected so that no one enters an emergency,” said the leader of the parliamentary group Amira Mohamed Ali. Government policy in the first lockdown in the spring did not ensure that. “Instead, the gap between rich and poor has widened once again, and that is exactly what now threatens to worsen.”
