New corona help: help is help and “the mask is the mask” – news

The Federal Council assumes that the crown crisis will not end anytime soon. The economy and society would also suffer from this for a long time.

The Federal Council can be credited with keeping its word. At the end of October, when the number of infections increased considerably and the Federal Council decided on restrictive measures, it announced that it would also analyze the aid measures and, if necessary, deliver them. He did it today.

You have decided on several measures that have already been planned and have put others on the road. But the whole thing is not entirely indisputable:

• TO Help in case of emergency for companies needy: The Federal Council increases this from 400 million to 1,000 million. The cantons have unequivocally demanded it, and even Finance Minister Ueli Maurer has promised it before. In this sense, the increase is not a surprise and the change in the law should also be approved by the parliament, although some financial politicians might be upset about it.
• the Help for football and ice hockey clubs: The fact that the federal government supports this with 115 million à-fonds-perdu contributions may also upset some, but those who resist become unpopular. Because this money should also help keep the widely branched structures of popular sport alive. On the other hand, no one is likely to speak out loud.
• And finally, the most controversial point, the Extension of short-time work: The Federal Council proposes that temporary employees can now also receive short-term allowances. The bourgeois majority in parliament rejected exactly this in the fall session when the Covid-19 law was discussed. The Federal Council is now proposing this again. It will be interesting to see if the second wave will cause a change of mind.

The Federal Council keeps its word: help is help. Finance Minister Ueli Maurer made headlines today with another statement. The Federal Council also proposes to modify the Ordinance on fines. This allows police officers to impose a fine on people who do not wear a mask.

When asked why the Federal Council was proposing, if the people did not behave as the Federal Council would like, Federal Councilor Maurer replied: It should be clear to everyone that the more disciplined people behave, the faster they can return. Get back to normal – and beyond: ‘The mask is the mask and caution is caution, whether it fits or not, we want to express that. You can protest against that and hit the table, but if we don’t get the numbers and the contagions, it’s nothing. That’s so. “Period.

Oliver Washington

Editor of the Bundeshaus, SRF

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Oliver Washington has been with SRF since 2003. From 2007 he was a member of the Inland editorial team, from 2014 to 2019 he reported from Brussels as an EU correspondent. He now works in the editorial team of the Bundeshaus at SRF. Washington studied sociology, geography, and economic history.