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Press conference with Michael Müller, Angela Merkel, Markus Söder and Olaf Scholz in the Chancellery on December 13th
Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka / dpa
So far, meetings and switching between the Chancellor and the Prime Minister have been an agonizing affair.
For hours, the participants discussed new measures in the fight against the coronavirus.
The Chancellor and some Prime Ministers were very annoyed afterwards.
Everything was different that Sunday.
At 10 o'clock in the morning Angela Merkel had an appointment with her country colleagues to switch, just under an hour later the tightened lockdown was already wrapped up.
A little later, a visibly exhausted Chancellor, who had to attend an exhausting EU summit that night, sat in front of journalists to explain the results.
"We are forced to act and we act now," she said.
At her side in the Chancellery were Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU), Berlin's Governing Mayor Michael Müller and Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz (both SPD).
This time, the press conference also went over the stage almost at a rapid pace: politics at a rapid pace.
The Chancellor had been pressing for stricter measures for weeks, but she did not get through with everyone.
But scolding in hindsight was not an option.
Today is not the day to look back, but "what is necessary to do," noted the Chancellor.
Chancellery put pressure on
The fact that things went so quickly this time was not only due to the hard facts, to the increasing number of infections and deaths in recent weeks, to the fact that the recently agreed softer shutdown is not having its effect.
The Chancellery made it clear beforehand, so it was heard in Berlin, that one could only come together if it was clear this time what the states and the federal government wanted to agree on.
In Söder's words it sounded like this: He praised the “good preparation” of all those involved in the federal and state levels and the “clear leadership” of the Chancellor.
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On the way to tougher measures: Merkel (2nd from left), Söder, Scholz and Müller in the Chancellery
Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka / dpa
That it would turn out like this was by no means a sure-fire success.
As recently as Friday, it was not clear in many state chancelleries whether the switch would even come about so quickly.
But then things happened quickly: On Saturday, as usual, there were separate appointments between the countries led by the SPD and the countries led by the Union.
On Sunday there was largely a joint plan between the Chancellery and the federal states - with the possibility of a quick decision.
In Baden-Württemberg, where Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) ruled with the CDU, people were satisfied: the Chancellor had "pulled it off".
The draft was discussed constructively, and it was already clear to everyone from the preliminary negotiations that the lockdown was coming.
No point in the submission was questioned, except for the topic of Christmas, there had been a change in the number of people, it was said from Stuttgart.
In detail, the regulations of the federal states differ
From Wednesday, life in the country will largely be shut down, the countries regulate the individual measures in detail.
With the exception of certain shops - including those for daily needs - the trade largely closes until January 10th.
(Read the details here.)
Above all, however, it was about regulations for the Christmas and public holidays, the opportunity to celebrate with relatives and friends.
A passage that seems complicated and was even commented on by participants in the group with the sentence that “what was wanted” was “not clearly expressed”.
(Read the complex details here.) Individual states want to adhere to their regulations, such as Berlin and Saxony-Anhalt.
New Year's Eve should also be quieter.
There is a nationwide ban on selling firecrackers, and gatherings and gatherings are forbidden nationwide on December 31st and January 1st.
In addition, there is »a ban on fireworks in public places to be defined by the municipalities«.
Single parents and families with children are particularly affected
Despite increasing secularization, Christmas is also a festival of faith for many people.
How it looks with church services and other religious events will be discussed with the Christian, Jewish and Muslim religious communities in the coming days.
The rules for church services decided by the federal and state governments on Sunday have already been implemented in many places, such as the mask requirement, the ban on singing for the communities and registration lists for the Christmas services, according to the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) after the decision.
The drastic measures will mainly affect families and single parents.
The abolition of compulsory attendance at all schools from primary level and the closure of day-care centers from Wednesday onwards are intended to enable institutions and families to prepare for it.
Individual countries are already rushing forward: In Brandenburg, for example, face-to-face classes will no longer take place from Monday.
Berlin's Governing Mayor Müller, who is currently in charge of the country coordination, defended Wednesday as the starting date: 52 percent of single parents are in the capital alone, and those affected need time to prepare.
The daycare centers in Berlin will therefore remain open for the time being, but parents are appealed to to look after the children at home.
Söder's clear warning
On that day, Bavaria's Prime Minister Söder once again gave the eloquent warning: "If we are not careful, Germany will quickly become the problem child in all of Europe." According to the CSU politician, the philosophy is "stay at home," preferably "at home with the." Family".
That is why not only are most of the shops in the city centers closed, but there is also a ban on alcohol in order to prevent “mulled wine to go or mulled wine hopping”.
This time Söder avoided any tip against other countries.
Bavaria, he admitted, is a hotspot in view of the high number of infections, the spread of the virus is moving from south to north, that is "not a question of better or worse, but affected together and immediately."
Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg had made progress on another point in the past few days, when they issued exit restrictions in their countries from the evening hours until the early hours of the morning.
This will now also be possible nationwide.
Bavaria will now enact it for the entire Free State.
The Thuringia, which is governed by the left-wing Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow, plans a similar measure, as a cabinet proposal shows: From December 16 to January 10, the Free State - apart from specific exceptions - is to have »nightly exit restrictions from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. “Apply in the morning, says the paper that SPIEGEL has on hand.
Germany, it looks like, is again closing itself off a bit after the spring.
Also in anticipation of the vaccinations.
But there are problems here: By the end of January, only three to four million vaccine doses from Biontech / Pfizer will be available in Germany, as became clear in Sunday's news bulletin.
That - and the still lack of approval in the EU - could slow the rate of vaccination coverage.
(Read details here.)
The measures now decided apply until January 10th.
For now.
How things will continue in January "we can't say today," said the Chancellor in front of the media.
The next switch will take place on January 5th.
That's the plan.
In the round on Sunday, the Chancellor was asked by one of the Prime Ministers about the situation after January 10th.
If necessary, said Merkel, an extension of the measures can be expected if the seven-day incidence has not fallen to 50 per 100,000 residents.
That can also be communicated in this way in the countries.
And Merkel referred to a formulation in the joint federal-state resolution: The health authorities must be able to "identify and interrupt chains of infection as completely as possible and thus further reduce the number of sick people."
That is an ambitious goal.
As it currently stands, Germany still has a long way to go.
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