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Doctor and FDP politician Andrew Ullmann: significantly involved in the application
Photo: Fabian Sommer / picture alliance / dpa
One day before the »orientation debate« in the Bundestag on compulsory vaccination, a group of three members of the FDP and three members of parliament from the Greens announced in a joint letter a group application for a graduated compulsory vaccination.
The letter, along with an accompanying text, which is available to SPIEGEL, first proposes a mandatory consultation and, in a further step, compulsory vaccination for citizens aged 50 and over. The letter is signed by the FDP members of the Bundestag Andrew Ullmann, Konstantin Kuhle and Gyde Jensen as well as the Green MPs Dieter Janecek, Paula Piechotta and Kordula Schulz-Asche.
The letter from the six – including two doctors, Ullmann and Piechotta – states that society is not only divided into opponents of vaccination and those who have been vaccinated.
There is a large number of people who are not vaccinated even though they could be persuaded.
It is therefore suggested that "a mandatory, professional and personal consultation for all unvaccinated adults in Germany" so the authors.
One wants to give every unvaccinated person an appointment that must be observed.
»Following the consultation, there is the option of being vaccinated voluntarily.
In this way we can directly refute a lot of misinformation and fears and increase the vaccination rate," hope the politicians from the FDP and Greens.
In a second step, the six MPs from the traffic light coalition are campaigning for compulsory vaccination from the age of 50.
This practice is already taking place in Italy.
The aim of fighting the pandemic is to protect the health system from being overloaded, which requires a higher vaccination rate.
"If the required vaccination rate does not occur within a specified time after the introduction of mandatory vaccination information, the second step must be a vaccination certificate from the age of 50," says the letter from the six to the members of all parliamentary groups in the Bundestag.
Age is a risk factor that is easy to measure for a severe course of Covid-19, and it is easier to justify a vaccination certificate for citizens over 50 constitutionally, “because severe courses typically occur in older people and the age-related vaccination certificate requirement is therefore a milder means of general proof of vaccination constitutes «.
MEPs want to “promote the middle ground”
The six members of the Bundestag want, as they put it themselves, to “promote the middle ground and make it capable of winning a majority” in the compulsory vaccination debate.
Striking: So far there is no SPD deputy who has joined their concern.
One day before the debate, the following picture emerges in the Bundestag: In addition to the most recent letter from the six, there is already a draft of a group application around the FDP Vice Wolfgang Kubicki, who speaks out against compulsory vaccination and for further advertising measures for vaccination.
This paper was last supported by 32 FDP MPs and two parliamentarians from the CDU.
At the end of last week, seven MPs from the SPD, Greens and FDP announced that they would submit another group application - for general vaccination for all citizens over the age of 18.
This letter is signed by the SPD MPs Dirk Wiese, Heike Baehrens and Dagmar Schmidt, the Green MPs Janosch Dahmen and Till Steffen and the FDP MPs Katrin Helling-Plahr and Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann.
Under pressure from the FDP in particular, the traffic light coalition had waived its own application for compulsory vaccination.
Instead, there should be cross-party group applications.
It is not yet clear when they will be introduced and when they will be voted on in the spring.
