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Prime ministers do not have a common stance on corona rules

2020-08-25T18:34:23.978Z


Test strategies and mask requirement - Bavaria, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saaarland advocate uniform requirements, Saxony insists on its separate path. Saxony-Anhalt also pleads for regional solutions.


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Better alone: ​​the Prime Minister of Saxony Michael Kretschmer

Photo: Steffen Unger / imago images / Steffen Unger

On Thursday, the prime ministers of the federal states will meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) to discuss measures to combat the corona crisis - it is already becoming apparent that the federal states are at odds.

In a video message, the Prime Minister of Saxony Michael Kretschmer (CDU) defended his special approach. Kretschmer said that the past few weeks and months had very good experiences with personal responsibility, including decentralized decisions. "And that is why many things are possible in Saxony that are excluded in other federal states. One reason for this is the low number of infections." Most recently, Saxony introduced a fine for those who do not comply with the mask requirement.

"I also hear the discussion from other federal states 'Shouldn't we generalize all of this, shouldn't we do everything the same?' I think that you can only do things that are really the same, "said Kretschmer. The different infection processes require other solutions.

His counterpart Reiner Haseloff from Saxony-Anhalt sounds similar. He told the dpa news agency "in principle" applies: "In the event of different infection incidents, it must be possible to act differently in different regions." Joint regulations made sense, especially at sporting events, but there too he spoke out against rigid guidelines.

Bavaria, Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate advocate uniform regulations

The Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) sees it differently. In an interview with SPIEGEL, he said the reins had to be tightened. "We need more uniform standards in the fight against Corona. Federalism must now find the strength to at least agree uniform basic rules and define binding benchmarks," he said.

This is also how the Saarland Prime Minister Tobias Hans (CDU) sees it. He wished that the prime ministers and the federal government could agree on a "common approach", he said. The citizens expected this too.

The Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Malu Dreyer (SPD) also spoke out in favor of more comparable regulations. "We need more uniformity on fundamental issues," she told the dpa news agency. This also applies to fines, especially if the facts are transnational.

"That ensures more clarity among the population and thus also greater understanding and greater acceptance," said Dreyer. Particularly with a view to autumn, a "coordinated and effective test strategy" is necessary, which includes the question of quarantine for returnees from risk areas.

Kubicki attacks Söder

The test strategy should also be on Thursday. Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) and the health ministers of the federal states had suggested by a majority that there should no longer be free corona tests for vacationers in the future. In addition, the obligation to test for returnees from risk areas is to be abolished after the end of the summer travel season. This is justified, among other things, with the increasing burden on the laboratories. There is still no decision. Bavaria has already announced resistance.

The deputy FDP chairman Wolfgang Kubicki attacked Söder for his call for uniformity. If Markus Söder is now calling for nationwide regulations to curb the spread of the corona, then it is a helpless attempt to distract attention from the miserable number of infections in Bavaria, "said Kubicki.

The other federal states did not need any instructions from the Bavarian State Chancellery on how to sensibly behave in the Corona crisis. "All the other prime ministers have so far managed the crisis better than Markus Söder. The roaring claim to be the greatest corona fighter of all time cannot be justified by the numbers," said Kubicki, who is also Vice President of the German Bundestag.

Icon: The mirror

height / dpa

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2020-08-25

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