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The former head of the Chancellery and candidate for the CDU chairmanship: Helge Braun at the top SPIEGEL talk
Hundreds of deaths every day, the omicron variant on the advance - and in many places intensive care units at the limit: In the second Corona autumn, the fourth wave of the pandemic hit Germany with full force.
From the point of view of the former Chancellery Minister Helge Braun (CDU), the fact that the situation got so bad is above all a "fundamental mistake" by the new Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
At the beginning of September he had already advertised third-party vaccinations and suggested a new conference of prime ministers, said Braun in the SPIEGEL top-level meeting with Markus Feldenkirchen.
"In the end, it was Olaf Scholz and the traffic light who said: We're not going to hold a Prime Minister's Conference now."
The SPD, Greens and FDP were in coalition negotiations in October and November.
From Braun's point of view, the Social Democrats had already left the existing government with the Union.
Then to postpone a federal-state round again and again, "that cost us four weeks".
"This fourth wave did not take us unprepared at all"
Braun was head of the Chancellery under former Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) - and as such in the grand coalition was primarily responsible for crisis management in the Federal Republic.
However, Braun rejects his own failures in the fight against Corona: "This fourth wave did not take us unprepared at all and we also made clear decisions to counter it." However, politicians like him were warned of rising numbers in the summer have been rejected for their "horror predictions" or as "panic troops".
Braun also does not accept criticism of the management of earlier federal-state rounds.
Among other things, he defended Merkel's approach at the disastrous Prime Minister's Conference before Easter.
"If you can't come to an agreement, but a crisis in the country doesn't tolerate delaying action, that's the only way," said Braun.
Certainly »not nice« for those waiting
During the round, the participants met virtually into the night, but Merkel kept several prime ministers waiting in front of blank screens.
Then a mini shutdown over Easter was first decided - and then called off again with the Chancellor's apology.
Braun said that it was "not nice" for those waiting around, but it needed a solution.
Braun is applying next to ex-Union parliamentary group leader Friedrich Merz and the former environment minister Norbert Röttgen for the CDU chairmanship.
After the election defeat in autumn, the party is aiming for a complete reorganization.
For the first time in its party history, the CDU has started a member survey.
The approximately 400,000 party members can vote by postal vote or online by December 16 about the successor to Armin Laschet.
The new CDU boss must be elected at the digital party congress in January.
The delegates then have to confirm the result again by post.
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