Saxony: Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer declares closure in his country

SPIEGEL: Minister-President, how did Saxony of all things become the leader of the Crown among the federal states of Germany?

Kretschmer: This is a snapshot that will change again. It is a wave that runs north. Our colleagues in northern Germany are also very concerned and have the same discussions as us. And they also feel that the measures that restrict freedom are difficult to transmit to the population.

SPIEGEL: But nowhere is the situation as dramatic as in Saxony.

Kretschmer: We hardly had any corona cases in the first wave, the summer was very relaxed. The warnings from virologists, but also from politicians, have been partially exhausted. It is true that personal experience does much more to people than intelligent analysis. A small minority of the unreasonable has also contributed to making the situation increasingly critical.

SPIEGEL: Does Saxony still have free places in hospitals?

Kretschmer: We are working to the limit, but we have a good distribution system. Patients are taken to Dresden and Leipzig from the Erzgebirge and Upper Lusatia. We are in talks with other federal states so that the distribution can go beyond Saxony if necessary.

SPIEGEL: No longer in control of your healthcare system?

Kretschmer: We have control of the health system, but to keep the pandemic under control, it is necessary to follow up the contacts. Now it is extremely difficult. The armed forces and state employees help the health authorities with contact tracking.

SPIEGEL: Is there any possible trace?

Kretschmer: Is not easy. Here it also depends on the population. If everyone is waiting with folded arms for the health department to call, containment will not succeed. We can no longer take into account that people stand out and find everything difficult. A week ago I only received letters asking me to relax more. That shows what the social mood is like. But the situation is much more dramatic than in spring and the population copes with it much more easily. We must act decisively now.

SPIEGEL: Where have you made mistakes in the past that have led to deceptive security?

Kretschmer: In the summer, the relaxation was absolutely correct. We live in a constitutional state: Germany has seen a large number of restrictions lifted by the courts because they were not proportionate. Appropriate measures must be taken, especially when it comes to restricting freedom. It’s about the social acceptance that you have to achieve. But now we have a different situation.

SPIEGEL: Its neighboring country, the Czech Republic, was declared a risk zone at the end of September, but border traffic was not restricted until mid-November. A mistake?

Kretschmer: Without Czech and Polish doctors and nurses, without DHL employees from Eastern Europe, medical care, nursing home care and other economic areas would collapse.

SPIEGEL: Is there nothing that you consider a mistake in hindsight?

Kretschmer: There are many things I would do differently today. The spring restrictions were too harsh and too long. But he is right when he says that the restrictions should have come more quickly now. The closure of nursing homes, for example. But many of those responsible also had very unpleasant memories of spring.

SPIEGEL: In October you warned of hysteria. Did you keep your Saxons safe for too long?

Kretschmer: Even now, hysteria is a lousy counselor. We see many hysterical people who think that the vaccine gives them a chip. We must remain calm and we must encourage people to support these measures. After ten months of the pandemic, many warnings have sadly been exhausted. Now it’s really serious.

SPIEGEL: You have been relying on personal responsibility for a long time. Too long?

Kretschmer: Personal responsibility is important. For example, you do not need to exceed the limits of the number of people who can come at Christmas. You don’t have to rush to the city center for the last few days left.

SPIEGEL: Interestingly, the hot spots in the Free State are not big cities, but sparsely populated districts. Why is that?

Kretschmer: It has a lot to do with the situation in the nursing homes there. It has something to do with the age of the rural population. And apparently there is a widespread pandemic that is sweeping Germany from south to north. The fact that the big cities of the Free State have so far been excluded may also have something to do with it.

SPIEGEL: In the districts of Bautzen, Görlitz, Erzgebirgskreis and the district of Meißen, the AfD was particularly strong in the last elections; the incidence is now very high. The Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Europe, his friend from the Saxon party Marco Wanderwitz, sees a connection. They too?

Kretschmer: It’s probably not that simple. On the other hand: look at the statements of AfD politicians who never miss an opportunity to question the virus, its effects and protection measures. This party provides members of the Bundestag who demonstrate without a mask. This holiday is wrong, after he asked us in the spring to declare a disaster. That is incredible. And of course, there are also people in Saxony who move exclusively in this bubble and who only perceive information from these circles and feel confirmed in it.

SPIEGEL: So your party partner Wanderwitz is right after all?

Kretschmer: I am not a statistician. I do not want to deny or confirm this opinion. We have to be careful now that we don’t provide food for new conspiracy theories, the situation is stressful enough. But one thing is also clear: we argued a lot in Saxony, and now it has just ended. We are at a very dangerous tipping point.

SPIEGEL: What do you mean?

Kretschmer: Anyone who wants to can still have a different opinion and question our measures, that’s how it is in a free country. But that is no longer crucial, these people now have to step aside. As of Monday, we will have a clear regulation that will be constantly applied and monitored. So in four weeks we have a significantly lower incidence and without overloading the hospitals. We obviously did not achieve our first goal: to keep schools and kindergartens open. But the second goal is not negotiable. Medical care must be guaranteed at all times.

SPIEGEL: You said these days in ZDF: “We have to counteract the brutalization in this country.” Who and what do you mean?

Kretschmer: This country benefits from the fact that there is scientific progress based on scientific knowledge, for example in medicine. Of course, everyone can babble a bit and spread some kind of half-knowledge at the same time, which is covered by free speech. You can also have conversations with people like that, that has always been my focus. But now we must oppose this nonsense even more clearly and argue against it. Opinions are not facts, that’s the end.