A current study indicates a connection between AfD election results and corona infections.
Karl Lauterbach then chooses tough words for Alice Weidel.
Kassel - The number of Corona * cases is increasing nationwide and the incidence climbs from one record high to the next.
As part of a study, scientists examined the influence of regional election results on the infection rate there.
One trend caught the researchers' eye in particular.
In districts in which the AfD had a high percentage of votes in the 2017 federal election, the results show that the number of infections rose sharply in the previous corona waves in 2020.
The participating institutes Jena and Bielefeld of the Research Institute for Social Cohesion (FGZ) provide information about this.
SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach * criticizes a public statement by AfD politician Alice Weidel with regard to the high number of infections.
Study shows connection between AfD election results and corona infections
As the Institute for Democracy and Civil Society Jena reports on its website, there was a clear connection between the infection rate and the election results of the AfD in both East and West Germany. The starting point of the study is the assumption that people in regions with a high level of support for right-wing radical or right-wing populist parties are more skeptical of democratic systems and institutions and tend to reject restrictions. The result: increasing numbers of corona infections.
For the study, 401 rural districts and cities in Germany as well as two corona waves in spring and winter 2020 were analyzed by the researchers.
The result shows that there were more infections in regions with a high proportion of second votes for the AfD than in those with a low proportion of AfD second votes.
"An increase in the AfD election result by one percentage point increases the average level of infection in the increase phase of the first wave by 2.2 percentage points," said Christoph Richter, co-author of the study, compared to Zeit.
Lauterbach attacked AfD politician Weidel for "nonsense" in a Twitter post
However, no differences were found between East and West Germany.
According to the authors, the “assumption that the connection is a specifically East German phenomenon” cannot be confirmed.
However, such a trend could not be seen for other parties in the Bundestag.
The AfD itself criticized the results of the study.
SPD politician and health economist Karl Lauterbach sees such a connection, which the study also shows.
Above all, he criticizes controversial statements by AfD politicians.
He made this clear on Twitter.
The AfD parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel had previously described a 3G regulation in local public transport as "completely nonsensical" on Twitter.
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AfD parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel considers the new corona regulation in local public transport to be "completely nonsensical".
(Archive image)
© Bernd von Jutrczenka / dpa
Corona death through "political manipulation"?
Lauterbach shoots against Weidel
Lauterbach responded to this statement and attacked Weidel's claims.
"Such nonsense explains why more people die of Covid in regions with more AfD voters," replied the SPD politician on Twitter.
In spite of everything, he felt sorry for the people affected: "Nobody deserves to die of political manipulation."
After the Union had criticized the new infection protection law, Karl Lauterbach also shot against the corona policy of the CDU / CSU *.
(Alina Schröder) *
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