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Michael Müller, Angela Merkel, Markus Söder
Photo: Fabrizio Bensch / dpa
There is a depressed atmosphere in the Chancellery on Wednesday evening.
Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) is determined when she justifies the decisions of the day together with Berlin's Governing Mayor Michael Müller (SPD) and Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU).
"We have to act", says Merkel, "if we don't want to get into a national health emergency."
But Merkel, Müller and Söder also notice the burden.
You know: The tough measures taken to combat the spread of the coronavirus will lead to many more conflicts in the coming weeks.
Because only seven months after the first shutdown, public life in Germany is to be partially shut down again.
Müller makes it clearest how hard he struggled with himself.
It was "very difficult for him to make these decisions," says the SPD country chief.
"We know what unreasonable demands and restrictions they mean for people."
Restaurants are to close, only members of two households are allowed to meet in public, events are prohibited (read an overview of the resolutions here).
The "lockdown light", as it is often called, is likely to hit parts of the economy hard - even if there should be financial compensation for companies and schools and daycare centers remain open.
Which at least allows many parents to continue working.
"We have to take action"
Angela Merkel
The goal of Merkel and the 16 prime ministers: They want to stop the exponential spread of the virus.
The measures are initially limited in time until the end of November; their effectiveness is to be checked in two weeks.
The hope: if the daily number of infections is reduced in November, the requirements could be relaxed in December.
Then at least Christmas with the family would be saved.
The chancellor says that the tough conditions are also necessary because 75 percent of infections no longer know where they happened.
In addition, there is the growing number of people who need intensive medical treatment.
That number has doubled in the past ten days.
"The curve has to flatten out," says Merkel.
As in the spring, this could only be achieved if everyone showed solidarity and significantly reduced their contacts with other people.
Discussions about rule
Unlike in the past few months, this time there is relatively little controversy from the video conference.
In previous rounds, the participants had often fiercely argued about the right measures.
This time the prime ministers clash with Merkel only on the subject of contacts in private homes.
After all, there is no rigid regulation on this, just an appeal: Contacts should be reduced to an absolutely necessary minimum, parties at home, for example, are "unacceptable in view of the serious situation in our country," says the decision.
Söder later praised the unity of the group.
Most recently, the meetings were "often fragmented", he says, but this time it was "a strong day for politics".
But then one of them leaves: Thuringia's head of government Bodo Ramelow (Die Linke) only partially supports the resolutions.
He makes a note in the minutes and wants to present the measures to his cabinet and the Thuringian state parliament first.
Displeasure with the Chancellery
Something else made the agreement easier on that day: unlike in the earlier Merkel rounds, the country leaders had already got together for a preliminary meeting in the morning.
This vote did not take place under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Markus Söder.
That had bothered many.
Possible conflicts are now being checked in advance under the new MPK boss Müller.
Right at the beginning of the circuit, Berlin's ruler criticized the fact that the state chancelleries of the federal states had only received the draft resolution from the Federal Chancellery around 10.30 p.m. the previous evening.
Many colleagues are "dissatisfied that we have to work again with a template that only reaches us at very short notice".
At the joint appearance, however, Müller tried just like Söder and Merkel to emphasize the cohesion of the group.
The Chancellor, who two weeks ago made her dissatisfaction with the resolutions clear, was also conciliatory.
Her prognosis, according to which the decisions at that time were not sufficient and that one would have to meet again 14 days later, had proven correct.
When asked about this, Merkel says that two weeks ago there was no political acceptance for such strict measures - not only among the prime ministers.
Her conclusion: "This is politics."
But politics also means that the measures still have to be implemented.
And it is uncertain whether the country leaders will all stick to the joint decisions, despite all the demonstrative unity.
A uniform line was proclaimed more often in Corona times - and undermined again the next day.
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