With the corona virus, the sharp political dispute is also returning to Germany. Bodo Ramelow is angry - he accuses Minister Jens Spahn of taking a "dangerous" step.
- The corona numbers in Germany are rising again - apparently the phase of political harmony in the country is now ending.
- Thuringia's Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (left) shows himself once again as a critic of tough central measures in the corona pandemic *.
- Before a meeting between the Federal Government and Prime Minister, he targets Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU).
Erfurt / Berlin - With the higher number of corona infections flaring up in Germany, the fierce political dispute about appropriate reactions is apparently also returning: Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) wants to discuss how to proceed next week with the Prime Minister. The date could be turbulent: There is already strong criticism of the course of your federal government.
Corona dispute is taking up politics again: Ramelow warns of “dangerous” play with fear
At the forefront is again Thuringia's left head of state Bodo Ramelow . He had already made a name for himself in the spring as an opponent of the tough course of the Bavarian state government, for example. Now he accuses Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) of stirring up panic. “We shouldn't be operating with fear again. That really doesn't help, in my opinion it's even dangerous, ”Ramelow told Spiegel .
The stumbling block for him is apparently the dispute over an early cancellation of the carnival in Germany. "I think it's completely wrong that the carnival should be canceled everywhere," emphasized Ramelow - and even gave hope to friends of the fifth season in his state: He wanted to find ways to make carnival possible in Thuringia .
Coronavirus in Germany: "For fear of the apocalypse, blow everything off" - Spahn angered Ramelow
Ramelow said that one had to work with the carnivalists "to find a strategy that allows the celebration, and not to cancel everything from the start out of fear of the apocalypse." At the beginning of the pandemic , many people met at a carnival celebration in Heinsberg (North Rhine-Westphalia) infected with the corona virus, the district was one of the first corona hotspots in Germany.
Because of the increasing number of corona infections, Federal Minister of Health @jensspahn wants to reconsider easing the #Corona restrictions. At the top of the list are private parties. "Wherever we are sociable, the virus is a spoilsport," said Spahn on @ WDR2.
- WDR aktuell (@WDRaktuell) August 18, 2020Ramelow also warned the federal government against shutting down the entire country again due to the increasing number of infections . He thinks this is "out of the question and not even permissible," said the left-wing politician. Recently, however, Spahn had warned primarily with a view to parties and other leisure activities - and indirectly also not ruled out new restrictions for this area.
Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) is now taking a different course than Ramelow. In an interview with Deutschlandfunk, he spoke out against concerts and football games with thousands of people. He announced that he would also like to talk to Merkel about a national maximum number of people at private events, as suggested by Spahn. “We still have an incredible number of great, sensible people who provide for themselves and others in an admirable way,” said Söder. But there are also a number of people who do not take this seriously, "and that's why you sometimes have to protect the sensible from the unreasonable".
But he too had criticism of the federal government ready. Söder criticized the fact that Germany lagged two weeks behind the actual infections when assessing the risk areas compared with other countries.
Corona tests: "People's soul is boiling" - Dealing with risk area travelers also causes trouble
There is currently also a political dispute about how to proceed with corona tests for risk area travelers . The
Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) advocates a new strategy in autumn when the holidays are again. The “people's soul” rightly cooks when someone deliberately drives into the risk area Mallorca and is tested on their return at the expense of the general public, she said in the ZDF program “Maybrit Illner”.
Spahn (CDU) has so far refused, he still wants to pay the costs . The head of the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations, Klaus Müller, made a similar statement. Too many returnees would avoid paid tests. This would cause a much greater damage to society than if it were funded by the general public, ”he told the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung . ( dpa / fn ) * Merkur.de is part of the Ippen digital network .