Corona vaccination obligation wobbles: Union demands power from Scholz

Created: 01/06/2022, 13:57

From: Jens Kiffmeier

Long debates instead of courageous action: The traffic light coalition is fighting for the introduction of the corona vaccination requirement.

The schedule is shaky.

Italy is faster there.

Berlin - is she coming?

Or is she not coming?

The planned introduction of the corona vaccination requirement in Germany continues to cause heated debates in politics.

After the traffic light coalition in particular continues to disagree, the legislative process is now apparently stalling.

Against this background, the Union called on the federal government to unite and demanded a word of power from Chancellor Olaf Scholz * (SPD).

The exact design of a possible vaccination requirement is a "management decision" and one of the "most important questions of all", said Union parliamentary group leader Ralph Brinkhaus with a view to the rapid spread of the Omikron virus *.

"Now Olaf Scholz is in demand."

According to the previous announcements, compulsory vaccination should be introduced at the beginning of March.

According to the coalition's wish, there should be a vote in the Bundestag without any group pressure.

But the original schedule is apparently wavering.

According to a report in the "Bild" newspaper, the plenary debate planned for the beginning of next week was postponed to the end of January - as were the committee meetings and expert hearings.

The problem: So far, neither all applications nor the necessary draft laws have been adequately formulated.

The newspaper quoted government circles as saying that it was "expected to be introduced at the end of March at the earliest".  

Compulsory vaccination wobbles: the traffic light coalition cannot agree on the introduction - the schedule is obsolete

The main brake on the government is the FDP.

The Liberals, who are the only ones who have submitted a proposal so far, reject a mandatory corona vaccination.

For them, there is no right relationship between effort and benefit.

Since there should be no compulsory vaccination according to the general opinion, those who refused to vaccinate would have to be fined.

But the imposition and collection are disproportionate, criticized Federal Deputy Wolfgang Kubicki recently.

Jurists consider the introduction to be legally possible, but the FDP expects a “bureaucratic monster” when managing a required vaccination register, as the parliamentary group said.

One dose for everyone: The compulsory corona vaccination remains controversial in Germany.

© Markus Scholz / dpa

Nevertheless, the call for compulsory vaccination had recently become louder in Berlin.

The proponents are primarily concerned about the spread of the Omicron virus.

The Corona variant is considered highly contagious and could mutate into the predominant virus variant in the coming days, in Lower Saxony the time has already come *.

So the seven-day incidence jumped again on Thursday.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the value rose to 285.9 (previous day: 258.6).

Corona booster vaccination: Health Minister Karl Lauterbach sees the booster vaccination as the best protection against Omikron

According to experts, the best protection against infection is still the full booster vaccination. Although the course of the disease with Omikron is considered to be milder compared to the Delta variant, according to studies, certain long-term damage to the organs cannot be ruled out even with Omikron *. Nevertheless, the vaccination rate in Germany is still low. By Wednesday, only 71.5 percent of the total population across Germany had been vaccinated twice, and 34 million people had also received a third vaccination.

On Wednesday, Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) warned opponents of the vaccination against taking the Omikron * infection lightly.

It is dangerous to accept an infection rather than a vaccination, said Lauterbach, who has been pushing for mandatory vaccination for weeks and more recently for additional contact restrictions *.

It remains to be seen whether he will be able to prevail within the coalition and parliament.

Corona vaccination requirement: Italy is the first country in Europe to advance - the regulation will apply from February

In any case, the FDP protested against the accusation of blocking. Within the coalition one does not play for time, was quoted Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann (FDP) by the news agency dpa. In order to move forward in the tough debate, he suggested that the Bundestag first consider the arguments in favor of a general corona vaccination requirement in an orientation debate. A specific draft law does not necessarily have to be discussed. "That is in the hands of Parliament, but it could happen very quickly and very early," said the Liberal.

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In Italy, meanwhile, one is further.

The government of Prime Minister Mario Draghi is the first country in Europe to introduce a general vaccination requirement for an age group.

According to a resolution by the Council of Ministers, people over 50 should only be allowed to work if they are immunized - with the threat of fines of up to 1,500 euros.

Anyone who has to stay away from work due to a lack of vaccination is considered “unexcused” and is not paid.

The regulation applies from February 5, 2022 - also for foreign workers.

The law was initially limited in time.

It should be checked in June.

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