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Berlin's Governing Mayor Müller (left), Chancellor Merkel, Bavaria's Prime Minister Söder: Meanwhile extremely annoyed
Photo:
Hannibal Hanschke / dpa
It is already after 8 p.m. when the Chancellor interrupts the video conference.
Angela Merkel (CDU) has been meeting with the state prime ministers for six hours.
But the question of how things should go on in Germany's schools and daycare centers has still not been answered.
Take a ten-minute break, report participants of the round.
In the end it will be 45 minutes, but at least: When Merkel and Berlin's Governing Mayor Michael Müller (SPD) return to the conference, they have reached a compromise.
The schools and daycare centers will remain largely closed until February 14th, the current resolutions will be extended, but are to be implemented more restrictively.
Emergency care and alternating lessons for final classes are still possible.
"I don't let myself be fooled into torturing children"
In the subsequent press conference, Merkel urgently warns of the mutated coronavirus that it is now important to prevent drastically increasing numbers of infections, such as in Great Britain and Ireland.
"Now is the time to prevent the danger," she says after the Bund-Länder meeting.
But on this day it becomes clear: Merkel is increasingly encountering resistance with her restrictive course.
Several prime ministers make it clear that they do not want to support a further tightening of the schools.
The negative consequences for children and families are too serious.
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Michael Müller and Angela Merkel at the Bund-Länder-Runde: met for more than seven hours
Photo: Steffen Kugler / Federal Government / dpa
Merkel clashes particularly hard with Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig on the video line.
The Social Democrat criticizes the fact that two standards are being used in the discussion.
Children and families suffered from the closed schools, at the same time politicians fail to enact clear rules for home offices and oblige companies to make medical masks available to employees in production.
This brings Schwesig against the Chancellor.
"I will not be fooled into torturing children or disregarding employee rights," says Merkel, according to participants.
They looked extremely annoyed, they say.
And Schwesig got her frustration.
There is a marathon meeting on Tuesday in the Chancellery.
The minister-presidents met with Merkel for more than seven hours.
Biggest issue: Will the schools stay permanently closed or can the federal states return to more face-to-face teaching?
The Chancellor puts pressure on the school issue from the start.
"Do we play it safe or do we play it insecure?" She asks according to participants.
The issue now is "shared credibility".
Merkel's argument: You have to take tough action to avoid a permanent lockdown.
"We can't still tell people in April that we won't open the hairdressers." You need a situation like March 2020.
Merkel takes a tough line.
Daycare centers and elementary schools should only be possible to open at all if there is a seven-day incidence of 50 infections per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the resolution proposed by the Chancellery.
This goes too far for several prime ministers, as the SPD-led countries explain before the round.
It makes little difference whether you offer emergency care or lift the compulsory attendance, say the Social Democrats.
In both cases, almost 20 percent of the youngest come to school.
Heil and Altmaier clash when working from home
The Chancellor not only has the social democratic country leaders against her in the group.
Hesse's Prime Minister Volker Bouffier (CDU) also disagrees.
According to participants, he questions the statements of an appraiser who had advocated school closings.
The influence of primary schools on the pandemic is relatively small, said Bouffier.
He advocates letting them go.
In Hesse, the decision is currently up to the parents whether to send their child to primary school.
The new CDU boss, on the other hand, supports Merkel.
He is in favor of keeping the schools closed until February 14, says North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Armin Laschet.
A quite remarkable advance: After the first shutdown, the Christian Democrat was still one of those who spoke out most aggressively in favor of easing.
Even after an hour and a half, the round has not yet found a compromise.
Müller suggests shifting the subject of schools and coming back to it at the end.
Everyone is for it.
But there are also other issues.
For example, with the goal of more employees working from home.
Here Minister of Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier (CDU) and Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil (SPD) clash.
Employers would have to enable their employees to work from home if the work allows it.
It says so in the draft resolution.
Altmaier wants to replace the word "must" with "should".
Heil countered: There is already an appeal.
Hamburg's First Mayor, Peter Tschentscher, supports his party friend: You shouldn't weaken the resolution.
The scientists said on Monday that more people would have to work from home.
This requires a clear regulation, said Tschentscher, so that nobody in the company can leave the field.
Merkel also agrees: The decision to work from home must "have a bit of bite," she says, according to participants.
In the end, the healing line prevails.
Although this is not a real obligation to work from home, the heads of government nevertheless promise to further reduce contacts at work.
The group also agrees on the following rules:
The
contact restrictions remain
.
In the coming weeks, too, the citizens should best keep to themselves.
Specifically, this means that members of your own household may meet a maximum of one other person.
From now on, it is
mandatory to wear medical masks
- at least on public transport and in shops.
So far, other coverings of the mouth and nose were allowed there, but that is about to change.
Anyone who wants to go shopping or travel by bus and train in the future must put on so-called surgical masks or masks of the KN95 or FFP2 standard.
The staff of old people's and nursing homes should also wear medical masks when they come into contact with patients.
No stop for local and long-distance public transport:
According to reports, this radical solution was also considered a few days ago, but the Chancellor and country leaders are now clearly deciding against it.
They rely on the home office rule, for example, to ensure that fewer passengers are on the way.
If necessary, additional buses and trains should be used.
Services
are only allowed under severe restrictions: medical masks will also be mandatory here in the future.
On top of that, the minimum distance of 1.50 meters must be maintained, community singing is prohibited.
Countries with high incidences should continue to
enforce
local and regional tightening
.
In the Chancellery, however, they would have liked a more specific announcement: with exit and travel restrictions even if the incidence falls below 200.
Even in the face of a threat from mutated viruses, the heads of government largely forego radical tightening.
It is quite possible that, as so often, you will have to sharpen it again.
Before February 14th, the group should clarify what happens after the deadline.
The head of the Chancellery, Helge Braun, and the heads of the state chancelleries are to examine options for this - for a "safe and fair opening strategy".
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