The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

End of the pandemic emergency: The traffic light is looking for the Corona way out

2021-10-26T03:20:06.702Z


Jens Spahn is campaigning for an end to the pandemic emergency - and is putting the future government under pressure. The possible traffic light coalitionists are working on an alternative for uniform corona rules.


Enlarge image

"Corona is stupid": A child wrote his opinion on the pandemic in Dortmund with chalk on the floor (archive image from March 2020)

Photo:

INA FASSBENDER / AFP

Germany before the next Corona winter: The number of infections has been rising again nationwide for days. For the first time in six months, a seven-day incidence of 100 cases was reported. The number of corona patients in the intensive care units, however, remains at a low level, but the government warned on Monday that there is also a "significantly increasing trend" in terms of hospital exposure. And: Many people in Germany are still not vaccinated.

In this situation, which still seemed confusing in autumn, the Bundestag has to make an important decision on how to deal with the pandemic in just under four weeks: On November 25, the so-called epidemic situation of national scope, which the Bundestag has extended several times since March 2020, expires Has. According to the current Infection Protection Act, the determination of this situation forms the basis for numerous ordinances and corona measures nationwide - for example for the mask requirement or distance and contact restrictions.

Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) is now speaking out in favor of an end to the emergency.

In doing so, he is not only putting pressure on the grand coalition that is still in office, but also on the actors in the possible future coalition of the SPD, Greens and FDP.

They now want to bypass Spahn's stumbling block as elegantly as possible: The special situation should not be extended in order to avoid new unreasonable demands for the Corona-weary citizens right at the start of the traffic light government.

At the same time, however, anti-corona measures such as mask requirements or distance rules should continue to be possible - on a new legal basis.

Union sees traffic lights on the train

SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich said on Monday that there is a discussion with possible future coalition partners FDP and the Greens about new regulations in the Infection Protection Act. A further extension of the "epidemic situation of national scope" by three months is not targeted. With new regulations, the federal states should be able to react further to the challenges. "We want to reflect this in the Infection Protection Act."

SPD General Secretary Lars Klingbeil recently stated in an interview with the Funke media group that he wanted to decide on the further course in the fight against Corona with a "large majority" in the Bundestag. "We moved through this crisis very sensibly and with solidarity," said Klingbeil. It should stay that way over the last few meters, ”which also made the Union responsible. Union faction leader Ralph Brinkhaus promised on Monday not to refuse good discussions in terms of infection protection. He emphasized, however, that the black-red federal government is only in office in an executive role after the constituent session of the Bundestag on Tuesday. The ball is now at the "traffic light".

The question of how the Bundestag decides also affects the federal states. There is concern among the Prime Ministers that with an end to the emergency, some measures could be omitted entirely - such as the mask requirement for shopping, local transport and in other facilities. Most recently, Bavaria's Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) spoke out against the end of the epidemic situation. Only last week, the prime ministers demanded uniform regulations for a meeting. They fear that without a uniform legal framework there will be a patchwork of regulations. For this reason, they recently called on the federal government to set up a legally secure framework with which uniform protective measures continue to be guaranteed.

Spahn had not linked his demand with an end to all measures.

"The state of emergency, determined by the Bundestag, can, in my opinion, be ended because four out of five adults are vaccinated," he said on ZDF on Sunday evening, but added expressly that the pandemic would not be declared over.

Precautions such as the 3G rule, protective masks and AHA rules must continue to exist.

In the future, the federal states and authorities should decide on measures independently, so Spahn's suggestion.

A new challenge for the FDP and the Greens

The FDP, which could soon become a ruling party, is in a particularly difficult position.

Party leader Christian Lindner had criticized the federal government's measures since spring 2020, and his parliamentary group even had an expert report drawn up that considered an end to the epidemic emergency to be necessary.

When the Bundestag extended the emergency for a further three months in August, the FDP health politician Christine Aschenberg-Dugnus argued against it: The pandemic is not over yet, but an overload of the health system is no longer to be expected.

"We want to go back to normal legal status."

FDP leader Christian Lindner

"The position of the FDP is unchanged," Lindner now told SPIEGEL. “We want to get back to normal legal status. Details are currently being discussed in parliament, ”the group chairman continued. Unfortunately, Spahn had "missed preliminary work in the past few months, although he too now wants to let the special legal powers of the pandemic situation expire," Lindner criticized the health minister. However, Lindner was silent about the specific preparatory work involved.

According to SPIEGEL information, a way out is being worked on behind the traffic lights.

In the SPD it is said that after Spahn's announcement it is impossible for the future coalitionists not to end the pandemic situation.

They are therefore working on a system to transfer the previously possible measures one-to-one into a different legal situation.

It is possible, according to the other traffic light parties, that concrete proposals could already be made in the course of this week.

Green health politician promises Bundestag decision

The Greens also voted unanimously against extending the emergency in August.

Not because they had something against Corona measures, but because they considered the remedy to be wrong.

They submitted their own application to adapt the Infection Protection Act so that the state governments can continue to adopt the protective measures mentioned there for six months.

The fact that the Greens are now in favor of an end to the epidemic situation is taken for granted - but they too are pushing for central protective measures to be transferred to a new legal regime.

The Greens, amused to annoyed, note that CDU Health Minister Spahn is now the fighter for an end to the exemption.

"The decisive factor for a safe winter is less a renewed emotional debate about an extension of the epidemic situation than the consistent implementation of protective measures," said the doctor and health politician Janosch Dahmen to SPIEGEL.

Dahmen will negotiate for the Greens from Wednesday in the working groups on the possible coalition with the SPD and FDP.

The green politician also emphasized that the pandemic is far from over.

A systematic mask requirement, the 3G rule and the use of all functions of the Corona warning app are still central.

"The Bundestag," promised Dahmen, "will decide how effective protective measures can be implemented comprehensively and comprehensibly in accordance with the current situation."

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2021-10-26

You may like

News/Politics 2024-02-02T08:49:47.366Z
News/Politics 2024-02-02T11:30:15.211Z

Trends 24h

News/Politics 2024-03-27T16:45:54.081Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.