ARD magazine unmasks Söder's mandatory vaccination zigzag course - "Hardly anyone has changed their mind so often"

Created: 2022-02-09 18:43

By: Patrick Mayer

Bavaria's Prime Minister: Markus Söder from the CSU.

© IMAGO / Sven Simon

Bavaria is surprisingly going its own way when it comes to compulsory corona vaccination.

An ARD magazine criticizes Markus Söder (CSU) with a spicy comparison.

Munich – It is “de facto a suspension of enforcement.” With these words, Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) announced at the beginning of the week that he would be “generous” about the so-called facility-related compulsory vaccination.

According to the Corona rules of the most recent federal-state summit, the implementation was actually planned for mid-March.

But: Once again, the Free State is going its own way in the coronavirus pandemic.

Corona: Under Markus Söder, Bavaria goes its own way when it comes to compulsory vaccination for nursing professions

The

commented highly critically on this step with the line: "Bavaria comes first, then Bavaria, then the rest of the republic".

The criticism behind it: Söder's maneuver harms federalism in the Federal Republic, according to the journalistic commentary from Munich.

Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) was already quite annoyed by his standards on Tuesday (February 8) in a federal press conference on the Corona situation.

The Rhinelander explained with a view to Söder: "There is not much of a compromise line.

Either the law also applies to Bavaria.

Or it doesn't apply."

Bavaria is now a completely unpredictable factor in the Corona discussion.

Lower Saxony's Stephan Weil (SPD)

Lauterbach went on to speak of a "completely wrong signal, insofar as we give the impression that we could be politically blackmailed".

He was "surprised yesterday by the, I'll call it the embassy," said the head of department from Berlin because of the relaxation of the vaccination requirement announced in Munich.

A head of state from the north became clearer.

“Bavaria is now a completely unpredictable factor in the corona discussion,” explained Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD): “The fact that even the implementation of a federal law is now being refused for the foreseeable future has a new quality.

Applicable law is to be applied everywhere and is not at the disposal of the respective state government.

In the video: dispute with Söder - Lauterbach insists on compulsory corona vaccination

A political magazine from WDR (belongs to ARD) has now taken a different path of criticism of the Bavarian initiative - and exposed Söder's alleged compulsory vaccination zigzag course.

Specifically: "Monitor" shared a post on Instagram, including assembly, described as "Söder's line for compulsory vaccination".

Four stages between January 2021 and February 2022 are shown.

Corona: compulsory vaccination against the virus – zigzag course by Markus Söder (CSU)?

The stages: In January 2021, the Bavarian Prime Minister was one of the first to propose compulsory vaccination in nursing professions.

In July of the same year, the 55-year-old Franconian, on the other hand, rejected general vaccination on the grounds that it was a “strong encroachment on fundamental rights”.

In November, Söder again demanded "vaccination for everyone and as soon as possible".

Now, only three months later, the head of the country from the south-east does not want to “implement compulsory vaccination in clinics and nursing homes for the time being”.

The "Monitor" magazine from WDR and ARD puts it into perspective that many politicians who were initially against compulsory vaccination during the corona pandemic have changed their minds.

"But hardly anyone has changed their mind as often as the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU).

But he in particular likes to present himself as a man with a clear compass," says the Instagram post by Polit-Magazine.

This continues to write on the post on social media: “But when it came to compulsory vaccination, he took a zigzag course: first he was for it, now against it again.

Now he wants to suspend the compulsory vaccination for nursing professions in Bavaria, which was actually decided by the federal and state governments.

His justification: Concern about a brain drain.

In addition, compulsory vaccination is not an effective means of stopping the omicron wave.”

Corona loosening and vaccination requirement: CDU and CSU do not want to extend measures

The Union meanwhile lets any criticism of Bavaria's path bounce off.

The new CDU leader Friedrich Merz demonstratively backed CSU friend Söder.

And the conservative parties continue to present themselves in easing mode, after they were long considered the big admonishers.

Tino Sorge, health policy spokesman for the Union parliamentary group in the Bundestag, told the 

: "From today's perspective, there is good reason for confidence.

If the corona numbers fall as expected, the catalog of measures in Section 28a of the Infection Protection Act will no longer be necessary.”

The measures to contain the corona virus would end in Germany on March 19th.

Until then, however, there should be plenty of discussion.

Also to go it alone from Munich.