Merkel on corona crisis: "Social question is gaining in sharpness"

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Chancellor Angela Merkel

Photo: Florian Gaertner / photothek.net / imago images / photothek

In view of the dramatic developments in the corona crisis, one could recently observe a Chancellor who was quite contrite by her standards.

In the most recent round with the heads of government of the federal states, for example, Angela Merkel made it unmistakably clear to the assembled Prime Minister what she thought of the previous discussion: "I am not satisfied."

The Chancellor admonishes and warns, that is the role she is playing in these exceptional months.

On this Monday evening she tried to address an emotional one.

At the awarding of the social prize of the Federal Association of Free Welfare Care, the CDU politician expressed herself by video message: "The pandemic with its diverse consequences hits us all, but some are particularly hard," said Merkel - "especially those who are not exactly on the anyway Stand on the sunny side of life who need attention and support in everyday life, but which is now even more difficult than usual due to the corona. 

The pandemic is proving to be a test for society and its cohesion, said Merkel.

She paid tribute to the work of the welfare associations that operate many senior citizens' homes and hospitals, but also kindergartens, care services and facilities for the disabled.

They all face special challenges due to the corona.

They had to contend with an ever-changing situation that tended to get more serious with the cold season ahead.

New high on the weekend

In fact, the situation is increasingly threatening to get out of hand.

In numerous municipalities, according to government information, it is no longer possible to track the contact persons of each individual corona infected because the numbers are simply too high.

As the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced on Monday morning, the health authorities reported 8,685 new infections within one day - about twice as many as 4325 on Monday a week ago. The numbers are lower on Sundays and Mondays, also because fewer tests were carried out on weekends becomes.

On Saturday, 14,714 new infections, a high since the start of the pandemic in Germany, was reached.

Only: what follows from this

And what follows from Merkel's appeals?

The next few days could decide whether politicians succeed in slowing down the surge in infections again.

Merkel now wants to urgently consult with the countries about stricter measures to curb the spread of the virus.

There will be a video conference with the prime ministers on this Wednesday - before their regular conference on Friday.

It is about what the federal and state governments can do together to break the trend as quickly as possible, said government spokesman Steffen Seibert.

Everyone is aware that "every day counts".

It is not yet clear what that actually means.

Is there another threat of a shutdown in Germany - similar to the spring when the country practically came to a standstill?

According to "Bild" information, the Chancellery wants to advertise to the federal states for possible further restrictions on public life.

In contrast to the lockdown in spring, schools and daycare centers should then remain open, except in regions with catastrophically high infection rates.

The retail sector should also remain open with new restrictions.

According to the "Bild" report, the Chancellery wants to be tough, especially when it comes to catering and events.

At the weekend, Merkel once again urged all citizens to reduce contacts in general.

On Monday, she apparently warned the CDU committees that the increase in infections must urgently be stopped.

According to information from the dpa news agency, Chancellor Helge Braun (CDU) expressed himself very skeptically in the CDU deliberations.

The numbers rose too quickly, he made clear.

Merkel and the Prime Ministers last discussed together on October 14th and agreed some additional measures, especially for regional Corona strongholds.

At that time, the Chancellor had already made it clear that after about ten days it would be possible to see "whether further new steps are necessary or whether the steps that have been decided have already been sufficient".

The federal government initially did not comment on any conceivable additional measures.

The negotiations at the time had been extremely tough.

The question is whether there can be a far-reaching agreement this time - including on nationwide uniform rules.

Hamburg's First Mayor Peter Tschentscher (SPD) said in the ARD that so far regional measures have been determined how it fits the infection process.

"But now we are in a situation where the numbers are increasing all over Germany. And that's why it's good that we are also looking at the rules nationwide and thinking about whether there are any further measures."

Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) said in Munich: "I do believe that it is pretty serious now, and that everyone has to be clear about what it is about."

With a view to the Prime Minister's Conference, Söder spoke of a "decision week".

Saar government head Tobias Hans (CDU) said on Deutschlandfunk that he did not believe "that we need or will get another lockdown situation like we did in spring".

But this will only succeed "if we, as federal states, work in concert with the federal government to set clear standards that are transparent for everyone".

There is no point in bringing a Saxon district to a standstill because of the high number of new infections in a Saarland district.

But everyone should be able to look up: "Is this district red, yellow or green?"

- and be sure that the same measures apply.

For the federal parties, the signal is probably already red - at least as far as their planned party congresses are concerned.

In view of the aggravated situation, the CDU has now postponed its party congress planned for December 4 in Stuttgart to elect a new chairman into next year.

The party congress should then ideally take place in attendance, said General Secretary Paul Ziemiak.

If this is not possible, a digital party conference should be held.

The Left wanted to decide on Tuesday whether its party convention planned for Friday in Erfurt should be canceled.

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kev / dpa