Corona has dominated Munich for a year - and one wonders how others are coping with it.
OB Reiter and the mayors Habenschaden and Dietl openly.
The
corona pandemic *
has
profoundly changed
the lives of
Munich
residents.
How are the
city politicians doing
in the crisis that has now lasted a year?
Mayor
Dieter Reiter
and the mayors
Verena Dietl
and
Katrin Habenschaden
report.
Munich - It all began in January a year
ago
: The first
Corona *
case
occurred in Germany,
and someone was infected for the first time.
Since then, all of our lives have changed completely.
State of emergency!
Wearing
masks is
now part of
everyday life,
contact
with fellow human beings should be avoided, many work alone day in and day out in the
home office
.
It was not an easy year
for
Munich's *
politicians
either:
Mayor Dieter Reiter *
says that this time will be remembered forever.
And the mayors
Verena Dietl
and
Katrin Habenschaden
also imagined taking office differently.
How you experienced 2020 can be read at the beginning of our
tz
series
“1 year Corona”
.
Munich mayor Dieter Reiter draws corona balance sheet: "Pressures on the mood of a city society"
Corona has completely changed life in the city.
That says OB
Dieter Reiter
(62, SPD).
“I see that every day when I look out of my office at Marienplatz.
When the carillon sounds, there aren't many people as usual, even in bright sunshine.
But only a few. "
People only see each other with a mask, there is no smile, at most with their eyes.
For the families it is a constant juggling between
distance lessons
and
emergency care
.
Single people are even more alone than before the crisis.
The inns, cafes and shops would have closed.
The curtain in the theaters, concert halls, music and cabaret stages had not been raised for many months.
Sports events take place without an audience, if at all, and club life has come to a standstill.
The anxious question of how many people did not survive the disease and how many suffer from the severe consequences. "
Munich Mayor Dieter Reiter (SDP)
“All of this naturally depresses the mood of urban society.
In addition, the daily look at the current number of
infections
, the occupancy in the
hospitals
and the anxious question of how many people did not survive the disease and how many are suffering from the serious consequences. "
Munich-Mayor Reiter on Corona workday: "At most a short exchange of words behind the mask"
The employees of the clinics have long since reached the
limit of their resilience
and are still committed to their work.
This last year was also not a year like he had ever experienced before.
"Our freedoms have been drastically restricted, many people are afraid of losing their jobs, cannot practice their profession, companies and businesses are facing bankruptcy."
In
addition,
everyday working life
has completely changed.
There are no more evening events, no more citizens' office hours, no receptions, all meetings only via
video
.
"At most a short exchange of words behind the mask, if I should go across Marienplatz." It was a big change for his wife that he was now at home every evening and on the weekends mostly only phone or video appointments in his Calendars would stand.
“I can't remember the last time we could spend so much time together.
At least that was a nice side effect. "
A year of pandemic - everyone would have hoped that the crisis could be overcome more quickly.
But at least there are now
vaccines
, and the
lockdown also
seems to be having some effect.
“The infection numbers make me cautiously optimistic.
But we haven't survived the pandemic yet - at least the silver lining can be seen on the horizon. "
Katrin Habenschaden hopes for spring - and that important topics will remain
Mayor Katrin Habenschaden
(43, Greens)
said the
crisis had
hit
many Munich
residents
hard
economically
, but also
emotionally
.
“It's not for nothing that our city is nicknamed 'Italy's northernmost city'.
We Munich people are sociable, love to sit in cafes, restaurants and beer gardens, we like to go to the theater, the cinema and of course to the Oktoberfest.
The Munich attitude to life, which thrives so much on interpersonal relationships, is massively restricted by Corona. "The
loneliness
makes many people very difficult.
But she is confident that
a new era will dawn
in
spring
and that Munich will find its way back to its old
joie de vivre
.
In the election campaign, Habenschaden campaigned for
climate protection
, better public transport * and more bike paths *, as well as affordable housing.
“Then came Corona with its massive health and economic effects and has dominated work in the town hall ever since.
Nevertheless, the following applies to me: do one thing without leaving the other.
Corona must not lead to us neglecting other important issues. ”Especially in the area of climate protection, the city must not lose any more time, that would be fatal.
+
The home office of Katrin Habenschaden in the home office - the mayor of Munich also juggles her children's jobs and homeschooling.
© Katrin Habenschaden
Homeschooling because of Corona: Munich Mayor Habenschaden speaks of a "challenge"
In her private life, she is like most working
mothers
in Munich.
“I try to meet all my obligations as much as possible: with the children, in the office, and I also have a husband.
Homeschooling is currently an additional challenge for family life.
The nice thing is that there's a lot going on at home too, and I don't have that much time for bad thoughts. "
The consequences of the crisis would be particularly visible on a walk through the city center.
Everything is closed, the city seems
deserted
.
Many livelihoods are seriously threatened.
“My concern is also that many of the consequences of the pandemic are happening behind closed doors and are therefore not so much in focus.
I am thinking of
children and adolescents
who are not allowed to go to school, daycare and sports clubs for weeks.
Or single people who are very lonely at the moment. "
The crisis has
increased
her
wanderlust
immeasurably.
She longs for the sea and the beach, for freedom and light-heartedness.
“What bothered me in particular are the
contact restrictions
.
I have a large group of friends and I just love being around people. ”These supposedly small things that were completely normal a year ago were missing in particular:“ Hug my best friend, drink a spritz in the city, visit neighbors for a barbecue.
My teaching is that nothing can be taken for granted.
And how nice life in Munich was before Corona - and will be again. "
Munich Mayor Dietl: "Corona doesn't stop me from working politically"
Munich's third
mayor Verena Dietl
(40, SPD) looks back on a year that presented great challenges.
“The people clearly felt the effects of the pandemic,” says the 40-year-old.
But Munich also
showed
itself to be inventive and
creative
during the crisis
.
Many developed good ideas, rediscovered their surroundings and showed great solidarity.
“Like most people, I have had a lot of experience with online meetings, video conferencing and digital events over the past year.
Proximity to the citizen
and continuous exchange with Munich residents are possible despite the restrictions.
In any case, the virus doesn't stop me from working politically and staying in contact with people. "
But of course there was no
personal meeting
.
A year ago nobody could have imagined that one would have to keep one's distance like that.
As the mother of two children, she knows the challenges of working from home, childcare and homeschooling for all affected parents.
“At the moment I also spend time in the home office to avoid contact.
I also take care of my children.
Fortunately, there are digital opportunities to work from home. "
+
The Mayor of Munich Verena Dietl in the home office
© Verena Dietl
Unfortunately, this option does not exist for everyone.
Therefore, home office must be made possible.
This not only protects the people at home, but also everyone who has to drive to work.
The
digitization
have relieved a lot, but also reveal gaps.
The city reacted quickly to this.
“We are investing heavily in the infrastructure for digital teaching.
Our focus is on sustainable schools that enable all children to participate in digital learning.
Distance teaching offers the opportunity to develop new teaching and learning, but it cannot replace face-to-face teaching in the long term. ”The
closure of educational institutions
could exacerbate inequality between children and young people.
Munich is very well positioned in the social area.
The city immediately decided that the
social institutions would
continue to be financed even in the lockdown.
“As the social mayor, it is important to me that we now ensure that people in emergencies continue to receive good advice and help.” The fact that the city has invested in social infrastructure for decades has paid off.
“We have to save because a lot of income has been lost.
But we save with a sense of proportion.
I am very happy that we are continuing our social course despite the tight budget situation.
* tz.de belongs to the Ippen-Digital editorial network.