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Armin Laschet cut his hair on Monday. It was the first day that beauty salons in North Rhine-Westphalia were allowed to reopen. Laschet was in Bonn on Tuesday at Norbert Blüm’s funeral. The Prime Minister’s week was initially less affected by the corona virus than is common these days. It is probably a coincidence, but for Laschet it was a pause in the constant fight for the crown measures and in the debate on relaxation.
Otherwise, the Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia can hardly escape. A few days ago, when I was speaking to WDR listeners at the Cologne broadcast center, the question was once again when I could start school operations, daycare, and popular sports. Laschet said: “The problem is always, if I make an appointment now, it means again: he is going to move on.”
Is Germany’s biggest loser suddenly afraid to demand further loosening?
There are politicians who have grown from the crisis in recent weeks. They have the impression that they are good crisis managers. They are in their element because they have an idea of the right decisions and find the right words to explain unpopular measures. Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder of the CSU was last counted among this type of politician. North Rhine-Westphalia’s father, Laschet, rather not from the CDU.
Laschet is not a quick-decision politician. You need time and talk to get an idea. It was the same at the beginning of the crown crisis. The contact restrictions that existed in Germany for weeks also date back to Laschet. It was his concept that prevailed. However, he was considered a laggard in closing.
Laschet became the “departure of the lord”
It took Laschet to find his role in the crisis. In early April, he presented his expert council, which has since dealt with the damage that comes with the restrictions, with the social, economic and legal consequences. Laschet was instrumental in driving the debate over the end of the shutdown. The harsh measures also caused damage, he argued. Therefore, they would have to be questioned over and over again. Laschet became a “Mister Exit”, a “Lockdown-Looser”.
But when other prime ministers started their course earlier this week, Laschet suddenly restrained himself. Lower Saxony announced that it would reopen its cuisine, in Saxony-Anhalt it was announced that meetings with up to five people would soon be allowed. At first, there was hardly a word from Laschet about the plans at NRW, although they had already been worked out. The state chancellery in Düsseldorf said they wanted to wait for the conference of country heads with the chancellor on Wednesday.
Söder did not wait. On Tuesday, he said exit restrictions would be lifted in Bavaria. “Corona is under control,” said Söder. Söder of all people, who presented himself as a tough dog during the running of the bulls and had become Laschet’s constant rival in recent weeks.
If you ask around Laschet what is driving the prime minister, the path back to normal is said to have become a hare-hedgehog game in some places. For good reason, they did not participate in it. The prime minister is concerned about the seriousness of his argument for greater regional differentiation and proportionality. Laschet “deliberately wanted to wait for the agreement agreed between the states and the federal government on Wednesday,” says someone who knows him well.
First push, then stay still, how come what?
Laschet has apparently learned that being the first in the relaxation debate can be dangerous. With his suggestions and ideas, he was considered negligent and reckless, he made mistakes, he failed. In mid-April, he spoke out against the requirement for a mask. “You don’t always have to ask the state for everything.”
Just a few days later, North Rhine-Westphalia introduced the mask requirement for retail and local transportation. Heinsberg’s study from the University of Bonn, which is funded by the state government and purports to underlie Laschet’s decisions, is subject to constant criticism. And when Laschet recently sat in the group with Anne Will TV, he seemed upset and sovereign.
Reluctance as self-protection
The situation is very complicated for the NRW head of state because he has been in the race for the CDU presidency since February. He is not talking about that at the moment, but the fact is that Laschet wants to become party leader and candidate for chancellor. This means that almost all the articles he presents in the crown crisis are touched on one question: is the content of a possible chancellor worthy? The answer is often: no.
Laschet does not leave this intact. He is often on Twitter and Instagram and reads a lot about himself. It is sometimes unfair to him how the public mixes his current crisis management with his political ambitions. Their new moderation strategy is probably also a form of self-protection.
Laschet was able to sit down at the conference with Merkel on Wednesday, this time avoiding major problems. He noted with satisfaction how colleagues from Baden-Württemberg, Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania made suggestions for relaxation. Now the others are on the way too, this is how Laschet sees it. You can be happy with this week, at least when it comes to the crown situation.
However, this can quickly change again: There are numerous infections among workers at a meat factory in the Coesfeld district, making the circle one of the few in Germany to cross 50 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants. Thereafter, the relaxation of the crown measures in the district was postponed for a week.
Annoyed by the Bavarian autocracy
That could be the next test for Laschet. According to the latest ARD Germany trend from the dimap Infratest, 53 percent of the total population thinks Söder would be a good candidate for chancellor. Only 27 percent say that about Laschet.
In Düsseldorf, however, people are convinced that the hymns of praise of Söder will soon end. The North Rhine-Westphalia state government says it is increasingly irritated in the other countries that Bavaria is being celebrated as a state that is the only one with a good plan to ease the measures. In other words: Söder’s autocracy is annoying. However, the question is whether voters feel the same way.
At a press conference on Wednesday afternoon, Laschet announced his roadmap for North Rhine-Westphalia. From May 11, people can go to the restaurant, from May 20 to the outdoor swimming pools, from May 30 there are trade fairs. Members of two different households can meet again.
Unlike Söder, Laschet did not say Corona was under control. For this he spoke about the conference between the federal and state governments. There are always different approaches from colleagues. Laschet could have turned out to be the winner at the time, after all, he decided what he had been demanding for weeks. Laschet commented: “I think many of the ideas that we have nurtured in the past few weeks have been adopted today and have become a consensus among the 16 countries.”
It was somewhat praised. However, it was significant that he only said this sentence after 56 minutes, it was the last of his press conference.
