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FDP General Wissing on his party in the Corona jam: "We need precise legal requirements"

2020-11-07T15:11:59.587Z


In the corona pandemic, the FDP is trying to balance government responsibility and criticism of the opposition. FDP General Secretary and State Minister Volker Wissing on how the Liberals were dealing with the crisis.


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New FDP General Secretary Volker Wissing (at the party conference in September 2020): "It is important to bring the pandemic under control"

Photo: Reiner Zensen / imago images / Reiner Zensen

SPIEGEL:

Mr. Wissing, do you master the art of balancing act?

Wissing:

No, I'm athletic, but I can't do the balancing act.

SPIEGEL:

In Mainz, as Vice-Prime Minister, you support the lockdown decisions, as FDP General Secretary you reject them.

How do you deal with this balancing act?

Wissing:

In Rhineland-Palatinate, it is my task to govern a state constructively, and at the same time I have a clear critical stance on the resolutions of the Prime Minister's Conference.

I represent them both in the federal government and in the state.

However, I do not draw the conclusion that the government in Mainz is questioning, especially since the decision was not made in the cabinet, but solely by Prime Minister Malu Dreyer.

It is not uncommon for coalition partners to have different opinions on individual issues.

SPIEGEL:

But doesn't your criticism of the Corona resolutions shake the Prime Minister's confidence in her deputy?

To person

Volker Wissing, born 1970 in Landau in the Palatinate, has been FDP General Secretary since mid-September.

The lawyer and passionate organ player has been Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Economics in a coalition with the SPD and the Greens in his home country Rhineland-Palatinate since 2016.

At the same time he is the FDP country chief.

Wissing was a member of the Bundestag from 2004 to 2013.

Wissing:

We govern in Rhineland-Palatinate on the basis of a close relationship of trust.

I made it clear in the cabinet that I expected my attitude to be respected.

It is right if the population realizes that there is no political unity on these issues.

That's why you don't have to become destructive right away.

SPIEGEL:

In Schleswig-Holstein, the FDP there even discussed withdrawing from the Jamaica coalition with the CDU and the Greens, but then decided against it.

Did you also debate such scenarios in Mainz?

Wissing:

No, that is a specialty in Schleswig-Holstein, because a cabinet decision had been brought about there before the conference of the Prime Ministers and the Federal Chancellor that ruled out the closure of restaurants.

Prime Minister Daniel Günther deviated from this cabinet decision.

SPIEGEL:

You took up your position as Secretary General with the explicit aim of leading the FDP into a federal government, if possible.

Now, in all state governments with the FDP participation - from Schleswig-Holstein to Rhineland-Palatinate to North Rhine-Westphalia - some harsh criticism of the new Corona measures is being exercised.

That confuses voters, where is there a clear line?

Wissing:

This can be recognized by the fact that we have the same view everywhere, both in the Bundestag and in the federal states.

This criticism is an attitude that is deeply in line with our conviction.

SPIEGEL:

Do you doubt the seriousness of the coronavirus situation?

Wissing:

No.

It is important to get this pandemic under control and protect human lives.

For me, this also means that we proceed as uniformly as possible across the country.

But that does not mean that I agree with every decision made by the Federal Chancellor at this Prime Minister's Conference.

SPIEGEL:

In the summer, the FDP called for an end to the "epidemic situation of national importance" with its special powers for the federal government.

Was the request premature?

Wissing:

On the contrary, in June the situation was relatively relaxed

.

That would have been the right time to lift the epidemic emergency and give the Bundestag back its legislative rights.

We need precise legal requirements as to which interventions in fundamental rights may be made in which situation.

Then Parliament could have discussed a set of instruments for the second wave and created the basis for new authorizations.

That was refused.

The result is that the Prime Ministers have now passed resolutions with the Chancellor that could not even be discussed beforehand in the Bundestag.

"The paper of the Prime Minister's Conference lists measures, but does not provide a single reason."

SPIEGEL:

Do you think that the round of prime ministers with the chancellor lacks legitimacy?

Wissing:

Basically, I am not questioning the legitimacy of the body.

But the round is comparable to the European Council.

There, the heads of state and government make decisions that are in fact final and no longer negotiable, even if they still have to be formally decided by the individual state parliaments.

Such intergovernmental decisions are unreasonable for democracies and should remain the absolute exception.

They are not transparent, experts are not widely heard, and communication leaves a lot to be desired.

SPIEGEL:

 What do you mean?

Wissing:

The paper of the Prime Minister's Conference lists measures, but does not provide a single reason.

Why are restaurants closing but shops not?

Why should the infection risk in churches with risk groups be less high than in a museum?

Why is it Responsible to Keep Schools Open?

All these questions are people out there asking, but no one answers them.

SPIEGEL:

The Chancellor replied in detail at a press conference, saying that it was a political priority to keep schools and shops open and to close other institutions.

Wissing:

It is very difficult to justify constitutionally to encroach on fundamental rights as a precautionary measure without being able to justify them with facts.

The constitution prohibits arbitrary decisions.

SPIEGEL:

Like your party colleague Wolfgang Kubicki, are you calling on citizens to sue the resolutions?

Wissing:

For us liberals,

encroachments on

fundamental rights are unreasonable, and as a lawyer you always think of the possibility of filing a complaint, after all, I'm one too.

At the beginning of the pandemic, little was known about the virus, so the courts have given politics more leeway.

Now we know what protects and what does not, so the courts will now examine more closely whether these restrictions on freedom are necessary and appropriate.

Simply choosing an industry because you had to choose one is constitutionally thin ice.

SPIEGEL:

The AfD is clearly occupying the position in the Corona situation; the party's honorary chairman, Alexander Gauland, even speaks of a "Corona dictatorship on revocation".

Aren't you afraid that the FDP's criticism could get close to right-wing populist rhetoric?

Wissing:

No.

The AfD denies the dangers posed by Corona.

It's destructive.

The Free Democrats see the risks and want to participate constructively in a solution and in averting the danger.

SPIEGEL:

In May, Thuringian FDP leader Thomas Kemmerich spoke at a demonstration against the corona restrictions in Gera, and there were also corona deniers among the participants.

He was criticized for it in the FDP, let his post on the federal executive board rest.

The FDP is not entirely immune to trips to the wrong camp.

Wissing:

One should never draw conclusions from one to the other.

Politics is a group dynamic process, and it is good that people are individuals.

As a free democrat you can endure different opinions.

SPIEGEL:

Can the party still bear Kemmerich?

Wissing:

The members decide for themselves.

"The events in Thuringia were a stress test for the FDP."

SPIEGEL:

Kemmerich recently defended his election as Prime Minister in February, which was also supported by votes from the AfD, in a tweet, and the FDP then distanced itself from him.

Is that enough?

Wissing:

The Presidium and 15 state chairmen have made clear statements, and so have I personally.

The friends in Thuringia, I have been assured, want to help ensure that there are no more doubts about the clarity of the FDP in its position on the AfD.

SPIEGEL:

What are your expectations in terms of personnel clarifications in Thuringia?

Wissing:

The Free Democrats want to communicate political content and be elected for this content, and our party friends in Thuringia will do the same.

Ambiguities arose that many felt sorry for.

And that's why it's not my job now to speculate about how things will continue in Thuringia in terms of personnel.

That will be clarified in discussions.

SPIEGEL:

Recently, however, there was a meeting between you, party leader Christian Lindner, and Kemmerich in Berlin.

Can Kemmerich still remain state chairman or even become a top candidate again?

Wissing:

We have agreed not to disclose these discussions.

SPIEGEL:

What does the fall of Thuringia mean for the FDP, also with a view to the upcoming federal election?

Is that still a ticking bomb?

Wissing:

The events in Thuringia were a stress test for the FDP.

If you look at the surveys in Thuringia, the situation there is still challenging.

The Free Democrats must and want to be able to act from within the democratic center. 

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Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2020-11-07

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