At the Corona summits, Angela Merkel and the federal states are discussing how to proceed.
This round has become a permanent fixture.
Many do not like that at all.
The coronavirus has also had Germany firmly under control since March 2020.
At corona summits, the federal and state governments repeatedly advise on how to proceed.
A format in which the criticism is getting louder and louder not only from the opposition.
Berlin - "The World Health Organization has now classified the coronavirus as a pandemic.
How to react to such a spread of a new type of infectious disease cannot be planned down to the smallest detail in advance.
But Germany is prepared for such a situation ”, it says in the first federal and state decision on the Corona crisis.
Shortly beforehand, the first Corona summit took place on March 12, 2020.
Hardly anyone suspected what would happen to Germany and the world afterwards.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, several more such rounds have taken place with the Prime Ministers of the federal states and Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The illustrious group met almost every month to discuss how Germany should deal with the corona pandemic.
The measures that have been decided upon have resulted in radical changes in our everyday lives and massive restrictions on our fundamental rights.
Corona summit in Germany: The course in the pandemic will be decided here
Nevertheless, people in Germany have got used to shimmy from peak to peak.
Almost feverishly, many hope for openings soon, only to be confronted with closings again and again.
It seems like the virus just won't let up.
After the first wave of infections in spring 2020, the situation initially seemed to ease, but in autumn the pandemic returned with full force.
It was met and decided again and again.
A certain dynamic is noticeable: Despite the demonstration of unity at the subsequent press conference, the state leaders in their own state often make exceptions.
An approach that may have contributed to squandering the advantage of summer 2020.
The lockdown light from the following November is now considered a missed opportunity to contain the virus.
The measures around Christmas and New Year's Eve were all the more stringent.
Since the beginning of 2021, the federal and state governments have been dealing primarily with the vaccination strategy and highly contagious mutations.
The board of prime ministers and chancellor reacted again and again to the situation with new laws and restrictions.
The course in the pandemic is negotiated there - often bypassing parliament.
There has been resistance to this for a long time.
The Bundestag and state parliaments feel that they have been passed over by the Corona summit
Many parliamentarians feel left out.
After the Corona summits, the resolutions are announced, mostly by the Chancellor.
The general debate in parliament sometimes only follows the day after - but without a vote and therefore without any real consequences.
The critical voices have long come from more than just the opposition parties.
It is less about content-related aspects, but much more about the way in which they came about.
The political scientist Suzanne Schüttemeyer appeased in an interview with the
Federal Agency for Political Education
.
There is no threat to parliamentary democracy, nor can it recognize a crisis in parliament.
Because the parliament has - albeit indirectly - influence on the decisions.
However, she also emphasizes "that the Bundestag and the state parliaments must again present themselves more strongly than the institutions in which political decisions are publicly discussed, the advantages and disadvantages of problem solutions are explained and critically examined .."
Resistance of parliamentarians to Corona summit: Sharp criticism from the opposition parties
"For almost nine months the government in the federal, state and local governments has been issuing ordinances that restrict people's freedoms in a way that has never been seen before in post-war Germany, without an elected parliament having even voted on them once," said the, for example Legal expert Florian Post (SPD) to
picture
last October
.
The party of the Bundestag member is part of the governing coalition.
Resistance is even stronger in the opposition.
"The Bundestag is not involved, although this involves drastic cuts in our fundamental rights and freedoms," criticized FDP leader Christian Lindner, according to
Deutsche Welle.
His party also requested in October 2020 with a motion to involve the Bundestag and the state parliaments more closely.
Applause came from an unexpected source: the left.
Jan Korte, parliamentary manager of the left-wing parliamentary group, called the initiative “surprisingly good”.
His party supported the project in parliament.
An unusual step.
Corona summit with ever new laws - not provided for in the Basic Law
In fact, the decisions from the conferences with the Federal Chancellor and state leaders are not very transparent.
The deliberations take place behind closed doors, the decisions are usually communicated immediately afterwards in the presence of the press.
The Basic Law does not provide for this format.
There can be no such round as a legislative body.
However, it is also clear that rapid action is required in a rapidly developing infection situation.
It is not without reason that crises are often the hour of the executive.
Nevertheless, the following applies: the legislature, i.e. the Bundestag and the state parliaments, pass the laws.
According to Article 20 of the Basic Law, it represents the will of the citizens.
The Corona summit cannot be a format for the future in a parliamentary democracy.
(mam)
List of rubric lists: © Michael Kappeler / AFP