Angela Merkel and the prime ministers argued for seven long hours about the new corona rules.
Now the first compromises are crumbling again.
As
Angela Merkel * announced
in a government statement, the
partial lockdown
to contain the
corona pandemic will
continue until at least December 20.
However
, the
contact
restrictions are to be relaxed
between
Christmas
and
New Years
(December 23 to January 1)
.
During this time, a maximum of ten people from any household may meet.
The
new
resolutions are
partially criticized in the
Bundestag
.
Update from November 27, 4:45 p.m.:
Union parliamentary group leader
Ralph Brinkhaus continues to
make a name for himself after the Corona summit.
He worries that the measures taken will not be enough.
“I really hope that's enough.
But I fear that it will not be enough, ”he told the SWR.
It
is sad that there is
no nationwide strategy
for the
hotspots
, i.e. the places with particularly high numbers of infections
.
"Delegating this to the local health authorities leads to excessive demands."
There is also a dispute about the financing of corona measures.
After several other coalition politicians,
Angela Merkel's Chancellor Helge Braun
(CDU)
has now called on
the federal states to contribute more to the costs of the corona pandemic.
"Dealing with the pandemic is a task for all levels of government," which also affects "the countries," he emphasized.
As an example, Braun cited the use of additional buses for schoolchildren *.
“Something like that is up to the federal states,” he said.
But
they would
also
have to make a contribution to
economic
aid
in the
future.
"So far, the federal government has shouldered the costs to a far greater extent," said Braun.
For
November and December
, the federal government has
promised support to companies, self-employed and institutions affected
by closings due to the
corona pandemic
.
In November alone, this aid should
add up
to
15 billion euros
, and in December this amount will be added at least again.
So far, the federal states have refused to participate financially in this aid.
Another point of conflict - apparently even within the federal government - are
hotel stays over the Christmas period
(see update from 11.00 a.m.).
Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert
made this
clarification
on Friday
.
"It is not part of the decision of the federal and state governments to make such overnight stays possible," he emphasized.
“Basically, it must be clear to everyone that it is a question of reducing contacts.”
Economics Minister Peter Altmaier
(CDU), on the other hand, stated that he considers hotel accommodation for Christmas visits to be justifiable.
Not everyone has "the opportunity at home to provide their guests
with an overnight stay with enough space," he said in a video link about the Corona aid.
Corona dispute: Merkel receives criticism from her own ranks - Prime Ministers have no understanding
Update from November 27, 11:45 a.m.:
The Corona crisis continues to cause political anger - the federal states are angry about statements from the Bundestag.
There, on Thursday, Union parliamentary group leader Ralph Brinkhaus went into court with the Chancellor.
He did not like the fact that the
Bund-Länder-Round
approved new expenditure, although the budget right for the federal government actually lies with the parliament in Berlin.
You could not understand Brinkhaus 'criticism of Merkel, said
Rhineland-Palatinate' s Prime Minister Malu Dreyer
(SPD) of the
Rheinische Post
.
“In the corona pandemic, it is important that all levels of government work together in a spirit of trust,” she said.
Brinkhaus also received incomprehension from its own party.
Anyone who gives the impression that states and municipalities are not sufficiently involved in the financing of the corona follow-up costs are “not acting fairly”, said
Saxony-Anhalt's regional chief Reiner Haseloff
(CDU) the paper.
Against Merkel's will: Laschet, Bouffier and Co. loosen Christmas rules - summit compromise crumbles
Update of 27 November, 11.00:
DC
several states
go to the
corona crisis
on distance to the
wishes of the Chancellor's Office
.
Both
Berlin
and
Hesse
and
North Rhine-Westphalia
want
to allow hotel overnight stays at Christmas
, contrary to the wishes of Chancellor Helge Braun.
Anyone who goes on a trip with relatives “must have the chance to stay overnight somewhere”, said Hesse’s Prime Minister
Volker Bouffier
(CDU).
North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister
Armin Laschet
(CDU) and Berlin's Governing Mayor
Michael Müller
(SPD) declared that such overnight stays had no tourist purpose.
In
Schleswig-Holstein,
with its comparatively low number of infections, nail and cosmetic studios as well as massage parlors and zoos can reopen from Monday.
+
The corona compromises have been found - but the countries are already adjusting.
© Guido Kirchner / dpa
CSU General Secretary Markus Blume
, meanwhile, praised the decision of the Berlin Senate
to forego
general
relaxation of the contact
restrictions for Christmas
.
"I think it's good that some countries like Bavaria have set about sharpening - and especially Berlin, which is one of the big hotspots in the republic," said Blume on Friday in the
RTL
and
n-tv
show "Frühstart"
.
In Berlin, unlike in the other federal states, there will be no relaxation of the contact restrictions over the
Christmas days and the turn of the year
after a senate resolution
.
Blum's party leader
Markus Söder
caused a stir a few weeks ago when he saw the
Corona situation in Berlin
"on the verge of uncontrollability".
The statement also met with harsh criticism in Bavaria, as
Merkur.de
* reported.
On Thursday evening, however, Söder also said on ARD “Extra” that he would find it better if all countries stayed on the same line.
Bavaria announced some smaller special routes on Thursday.
Merkel's Corona summit: Christmas for Helge Braun “certain unknowns” - Spahn appeals to personal responsibility
Update from November 27th, 8:00 am:
According to Chancellor
Helge Braun
(CDU),
Christmas
as a “celebration of privacy” is
a “certain unknown” in risk assessment.
That said Brown on Thursday night in the
ZDF
telecast
"
Maybrit Illner" *.
"Whether we
are preparing for
Christmas
and living with the family in such a way that it becomes a contagion problem, or we achieve exactly the opposite - we really all have that in our own hands." The prerequisite for this is to keep contacts to an "absolute minimum" beforehand to reduce.
"Nobody wants to infect their loved ones and relatives."
Health Minister
Jens Spahn
also commented on the citizens' personal responsibility: "In the end, we can only use
state rules to force what is necessary in this
pandemic,
" he said on Thursday evening in a broadcast on
ARD
- "Extra".
After Corona summit with Merkel: Doubts about New Year's Eve easing of the Corona lockdown
Update from November 26, 5:39 p.m
.: One day after the corona resolutions by the federal and state governments,
Union parliamentary group leader Ralph Brinkhaus
expressed doubts about the easing planned for New Year's Eve.
"Whether we can actually keep the ten-person limit from several households also depends on how things will develop in December,"
Brinkhaus
told
SWR
on Thursday
with a view to the turn of the year.
For Christmas, however, he thinks the easing is justifiable.
Christmas is of great importance as a family festival and as a Christian solemn festival.
This does not apply to New Year's Eve.
"New Year's Eve is not family (...), New Year's Eve is a party," said
Brinkhaus
.
However, he also expressed doubts as to whether one could reliably decide on such rules now.
“I was amazed at the certainty with which the decisions were made at the Prime Minister's Conference - wherever they said we are already making a clear announcement about what will happen at
Christmas
or
New Year's Eve
.
I would have been a little more careful, ”said the CDU politician.
Corona summit: "Mr. Brinkhaus is wrong if he believes that the countries would not contribute to the costs of the pandemic"
Update from November 26th, 4 p.m.:
The
Finance Minister of Schleswig-Holstein
,
Monika Heinold
(Greens), sharply criticized the
Union faction leader Ralph Brinkhaus
.
He had previously criticized that the burden sharing between the federal and state governments was
not balanced
in the case of
corona financial aid
.
"The federal states get more than half of the tax revenue from the municipalities, and I expect the federal states to finally get involved financially in this matter and not just make decisions and then present the bill to the federal government," he commented.
"Mr. Brinkhaus is wrong if he believes that the countries would not contribute to the costs of the pandemic," said
Heinold
on Thursday.
Schleswig-Holstein
alone
provides 5.5 billion euros in
corona emergency loans
.
Their verdict is clear: "Anyone who does not see the efforts of the federal states has to wear blinkers." Instead of criticizing the federal states, the coalition's own front door should be swept in Berlin.
Heinold
said that "a funding program that is based on sales without taking variable costs into account" would cost the state dearly and was not the idea of the federal states.
Corona summit: Bitter assessment from Merkel's Chancellery - teachers' association criticized "imagined limit values"
Update from November 26th, 2.30 p.m.:
The
teachers' association
has
also
commented
on the new federal and state resolutions.
The
president of the association, Heinz-Peter Meidinger
, gives a mixed assessment of the measures affecting the schools.
He advocated that as an
incidence value
of 200 other
protective measures
at the
schools
are to be enforced.
However, this is only an “optional” provision.
Meidinger was
particularly
critical of
the fact that the
number of 200 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants stipulated
for
alternating lessons
within a week is much higher than the recommendation of the Robert Koch Institute.
His comment is clear: "It is questionable when politicians come up with their own numbers that no longer have anything to do with what the virologists say."
+
Angela Merkel and Markus Söder after the meeting of the Prime Ministers in Berlin.
© Photo: Odd Andersen / AFP / POOL / dpa
Meidinger
positively emphasized
that the federal and state governments
were able to agree
on minimum standards for
masks
in schools.
In addition to the decision that
alternating
lessons
can be carried out locally in schools in the event of a sharp increase in the number of cases, in future there will also be a
mask requirement
in
class from the seventh grade
onwards
.
In most federal states, the
mask requirement
was and still applies
in class from the fifth grade.
Meidinger sums up that the resolutions of the
Prime Ministers
and the
Chancellor are
a slight step forward, but the consistency is lacking.
After Merkel's corona summit: Armin Laschet defends corona resolutions against criticism
Update from November 26th, 1 p.m.: Armin Laschet
, Prime Minister of
North Rhine-Westphalia
, has defended the corona decisions of the federal and state governments against criticism.
The easing between
Christmas
and
New Year's Eve is
also due to the numerous shift workers who celebrated their days off during this period, said
Armin Laschet
on Thursday in the Düsseldorf state parliament.
He expects the
corona infections
to rise again after Christmas.
The daily incidence of new infections must be reduced by the holidays in order
to avoid exponential growth
at
Christmas
.
Minister of Culture
Monika Grütters
(CDU) has made positive comments about the definition of the
Corona summit
on
cultural institutions
.
Even if it is sad for many people that these have to remain closed, she rates Merkel's clarification as positive.
It was expressly stated for the first time that, because of the status of artistic freedom, which is also anchored in the Basic Law, businesses should open as soon as this is possible again, taking into account the infection situation.
That's what Grütters said on Thursday in Berlin.
"I very much welcome this important signal," said
Grütters
.
Helge Braun on corona lockdown: Merkel confidante with gloomy prognosis
Update from November 26th, 12.15 p.m.:
Chancellery Minister Helge Braun
(CDU) considers restrictions to be possible until March due to the
corona pandemic
.
“There are difficult winter months ahead of us.
That goes until March. ”That is what Braun said on Thursday in the
RTL program
“ Guten Morgen Deutschland ”.
With the beginning of spring it will be easier
to keep
the
corona infection
numbers low - and after March more and more people could probably be vaccinated.
“But this restraint, which we all have to show, will also accompany us in January, February and March and possibly also restrictive measures if our individual behavior is not sufficient,” explained
Braun
.
The Chancellery Minister defended the extension of the
corona measures
by the federal and state governments.
It is also assumed that the agreements will have to be extended until January.
So far, these are initially valid until December 20th.
However, Braun also sees room for local relaxation in the case of significantly falling
corona infection numbers,
such as in
Schleswig-Holstein
and
Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
.
It is important that all federal states get involved "in the big questions" and that there are tightening where the number of infections increases significantly, said Braun.
Extension of the corona lockdown - Kretschmer: Corona pandemic is a marathon
Update from November 26th, 11.00 a.m.:
The Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg,
Winfried Kretschmann
(Greens), warns citizens of negligence in the
corona pandemic
during a special session of the state parliament
.
"We have to persevere in the last few meters so as not to endanger the victory," he said, referring to the progress made in the development of a
corona vaccine
.
The corona crisis is like a marathon run: the last remaining kilometers are the hardest.
Kretschmann showed understanding for frustration in the population.
But the corona measures taken have so far prevented a collapse of the health system.
After the Corona summit: Angela Merkel holds government declaration - there are no signs of a turnaround
First report from November 26th:
In a government declaration in the Bundestag, Chancellor
Angela Merkel
outlined
the corona measures after the
corona summit
on Wednesday.
She explained the meaningfulness and necessity of the measures decided in the Corona crisis.
Merkel
stressed
that it
has so far been possible to prevent
the
health system
from being overwhelmed.
One must continue to prevent that.
A trend reversal in the
corona pandemic
has not yet occurred.
The number of infections stagnated at too high a level.
“We want it to be no Christmas of loneliness in the facilities, retirement homes and the like, facilities for the disabled.
It is very important that we do not only think about our own families ”, Angela #Merkel in the # government statement.
#Bundestag pic.twitter.com/IhOlpWMfoJ
- Nina Barth (@ninabarth_hsb) November 26, 2020
Merkel also emphasized that corona easing at
Christmas
and at the turn of the year cannot be promised.
Due to a rapid infection process, that could change again at short notice.
Merkel was
critical of
the ski season
.
If it were up to the Chancellor, all
ski areas
should be
closed.
“We will try to find a vote in Europe as to whether we can close all ski areas.
Unfortunately, when you hear the Austrian pronouncements, it doesn't look like we could do it that easily, but we will try again ”, said the Chancellor.
Even non-essential travel should be avoided, added
Angela Merkel
in her government statement.
The politicians from the various parties then gave their views.
(aka) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.
List of rubric lists: © Michael Kappeler / dpa-pool / dpa