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Before the summit: Merkel and Söder suddenly corona loosener? An explosive opening date is circulating internally

2021-03-03T04:40:21.352Z


A turbulent corona summit is looming. Will Merkel and Söder give up their tough course? The Union is aware of the pressure to open it. But at the same time an explosive date is under discussion.


A turbulent corona summit is looming.

Will Merkel and Söder give up their tough course?

The Union is aware of the pressure to open it.

But at the same time an explosive date is under discussion.

  • The next Corona summit is scheduled for Wednesday.

    Even the Chancellor and the CSU boss no longer seem averse to easing the situation.

  • The Union is feeling the pressure to relax from the population - and still wants to keep an eye on the dangers of the corona mutants.

  • It threatens to walk a tightrope.

    A sensitive assessment of an epidemiologically realistic opening date is circulating in the federal government.

  • With our new politics newsletter you will always be kept informed about national and international political events.

Munich - Angela Merkel and Markus Söder have long been the faces of the tough Corona measures in Germany - the two conservatives also appeared as a duo of (depending on your point of view) restriction or reason at the numerous summits.

But if you are listening to the Corona crisis these days, you can hear new tones.

Corona crisis: Söder and Merkel suddenly think of loosening up - amazement before the next summit

The Chancellor has recently been talking about “opening steps” in packages.

And the Bavarian Prime Minister and CSU boss is now promoting an "opening matrix" - even if it has to endure some ridicule from the opposition.

A few days before the next Corona summit, you can already be pricked up.

Do the two, who have always fought for a strict anti-corona course, give in to ever louder calls for easing?

A little review illuminates the background.

When Söder and his cabinet in Bavaria decided after the most recent conference of the ministerial presidents, to bring elementary school children back to alternating classes within a week from February 22nd in regions with an incidence of less than 100 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and to reopen the daycare centers there , many people rubbed their eyes in disbelief - not only in Bavaria.

Especially since the Chancellor wanted something else.

Merkel had only advocated school and daycare openings from March 1.

And that's not all: First Söder announced the opening of flower shops, garden centers and garden centers from this Monday (March 1st).

And the next day, to the annoyance of neighboring Baden-Württemberg, the cabinet suddenly decided to open hardware stores.

Suddenly Söder was a pioneer when it came to openings - that's new.

Corona in Bavaria: CSU vice threatened with lawsuit against Söder's rules - Free State is on a tough course despite easing

In fact, internal pressure on Söder had recently increased, and not just from his domestic coalition partner, the Free Voters.

Inside the CSU, too, for example in the party executive and in the parliamentary group, the number of voices is steadily increasing, calling for further loosening, as

Munich Merkur

reported.

District administrators and mayors with low seven-day incidences also urgently require openings.

The Augsburg district administrator (and CSU vice!) Martin Sailer recently even threatened to sue the state government's corona rules.

So does Söder buckle from the growing internal pressure?

In fact, if you look closely at your course in Corona spring 2021, you will also find a different picture: In contrast to other countries, Bavaria continues to rely on strict measures such as nightly exit restrictions - also known as curfews - in hotspots with an incidence of 100 or more.

All Bavarian students are required to wear medical masks in class.

Throughout Bavaria, there is an FFP2 mask requirement in shops and in public transport, and at the borders to Tyrol and the Czech Republic, there are controls including mandatory tests for people entering the country - which Söder wants to continue to adhere to.

Despite all criticism from Austria.

In Bavaria, the strictest Corona requirements in Germany should continue to apply.

And even with Merkel, the previous line still resonates in all statements, which she has earned the image of the "brakeman" with other country leaders.

She warns against excessive hopes for relaxation in conjunction with corona self-tests.

Corona in Germany: openings at the Corona summit?

An explosive date is circulating in the federal government

What can we expect on Wednesday when all of Germany is waiting for the results of the Prime Minister's Conference again?

There should be openings in homeopathic doses.

Enough to give people a little hope after the winter lockdown.

But dosed so sparingly that the increasingly widespread mutations do not automatically threaten a relapse into exponential growth.

But there is a fine line to walk. Even in Merkel's environment, people know about the huge expectations of opening up in the population, but because of the mutations they do not believe that the magical 35 incidence will be reached in the near future.

Behind the scenes, the federal government says that, from an epidemiological point of view, it will be around Whitsun that it will be possible to open on a larger scale, because of the advanced vaccinations that will then also apply to middle-aged people with previous illnesses and the summer effect.

Pentecost is at the end of May.

Söder's Corona course under pressure: CSU sees lockdown dangers - but safety buffers are also being sought

Even more than the Chancellor, who left office in autumn, Söder has to pay attention to the mood within the party.

It is important to "cushion" at an early stage so that support remains high.

And: Without loosening, the population threatens to turn away from the general corona course, according to the party.

Merkel also wants to avoid this, especially since, in addition to the health aspect, it is very important to her that the good poll numbers for the Union are retained.

There is therefore much to suggest that Söder, like Merkel, will work on Wednesday for a path that brings precisely these mixed situations under one roof.

"We need a comprehensible concept that provides openings when the incidence gets better, but also offers the possibility of security when it gets worse," said Söder on Friday the German press agency.

A safety buffer is needed for the consequences of the mutations.

Merkel speaks of packages from the areas of contact restrictions, schools, universities as well as shops, restaurants, hotels, art, culture and sports.

Corona summit on Wednesday: Söder and Kretschmer want to present a “ten-point plan”

Much will depend on what the other prime ministers compromise on.

From Söder's environment we can hear that the matrix, unlike the opening concepts discussed for a while, takes into account more factors such as vaccination rates and rapid tests.

At least if these are, hopefully, really available to a significant extent in a few weeks.

North Rhine-Westphalia's Prime Minister Armin Laschet, who has long had the image of relying too briskly on easing, is also cautious.

Although he only recently made people sit up and take notice with striking criticism of the hard corona limit values.

“It is still imperative to be careful,” said the CDU boss on Friday after consultations with Merkel.

"Openings are only possible if we can absorb severe damage."

The incidence levels 35, 50 and 100 are likely to remain core elements of the new concept.

Depending on the infection situation, more openings for shops, more contacts and more school lessons would be possible regionally under 35, but tightening is stipulated in the case of poorer values.

Basically, that would be a corona traffic light again, as it was similar to last year.

Ultimately, Söder continues to warn against hasty hectic, rash experiments and the end of the nationwide philosophy.

In addition, he wants to present a ten-point plan for a Covid-19 alliance between the two countries on Monday with his Saxon colleague Michael Kretschmer (CDU).

But there will only be clarity on Wednesday.

(

dpa / fn

)

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-03-03

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