Vaccination dispute in Bavaria intensifies – between “minister of fear” and “tyranny”

Created: 02/11/2022 09:29

By: Sebastian Horsch

The debate about the institution-related vaccination requirement in Bavaria continues to draw its circles.

Söder and Holetschek reject the criticism from Berlin.

Munich – The targets are marked.

While the governing parties are shooting against CSU boss Markus Söder*, the Union vilifies SPD man Karl Lauterbach as "minister of fear".

But even within the traffic lights, conflicts smolder.

So that it is really clear who is meant, the Federal Minister of Justice included a picture of Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) in his Twitter post.

Compulsory vaccination: Buschmann criticizes Söder and warns - "Tyranny is not far away"

Marco Buschmann (FDP) writes the words about this: "If the rulers themselves choose which laws they adhere to and which they don't, tyranny is no longer far away." Now Söder criticism from the FDP is nothing unusual in itself .

But tyranny?

The choice of words shows: The dispute about the facility-related vaccination requirement* is by no means cooling down – on the contrary.

In mid-January, Bavarian counties approached the state government with concerns that the implementation of compulsory vaccinations in health care and nursing planned for March 15 would cause damage.

Overwhelmed offices, staff losses - those were the fears.

Even then, Minister of Health Klaus Holetschek (CSU) spoke out in favor of critically reviewing the introduction periods, and later brought a Bavarian special approach into play – but it was always said that one wanted to wait for the results of a federal-state working group first.

Söder goes its own way when it comes to compulsory vaccination - Lauterbach is irritated

So the topic simmered halfway calmly.

Last Friday, Head of the State Chancellery Florian Herrmann (CSU) wrote in a letter to a district administrator for the path taken with compulsory vaccination in the sector, reports the Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR).

Three days later, however, Söder overtook his own ministers.

Without further ado, he announced the de facto suspension of the regulation – “we will see for how many months”.

Not only Buschmann's FDP has been foaming since then.

Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD)* is also extremely irritated.

"It is a difficult task when you have to convince a prime minister to apply the law that he himself has decided," he said on Thursday.

Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is amazed at the sudden about-face from Munich and criticizes it.

© Wolfgang Kumm/dpa

Vaccination dispute: Holetschek rejects allegations - "desired escalation by Berlin"

For Bavaria's Minister of Health, on the other hand, it is a "desired escalation by Berlin that no longer has anything to do with the matter itself".

As a federal state, one must be able to clearly state that the industry's vaccination requirement "does not work that way," says Holetschek in our newspaper.

But because the traffic light coalition is about "a demonstration of power", this objection was deliberately misinterpreted.

The fact that he himself last spoke in BR of only a “few weeks” delay before implementation is also not a contradiction to Söder (“months”) and certainly not a rowing back.

"A few weeks - that can also be 20 or more," says Holetschek.

Lauterbach in the criticism: Not only from Bavaria – "minister of fear"

However, it is not only Söder's statements that are currently heating up.

While the traffic light shoots out of all tubes in the direction of Munich, your Minister of Health himself draws sharp criticism.

Hamburg's CDU chairman Christoph Ploß calls Lauterbach at

a "minister of fear" because he continues to warn against premature openings, although the German Hospital Society no longer expects the health system to be overloaded in the Omicron wave.

Lauterbach argues that the number of corona deaths may increase sharply in the event of a relaxation.

"I just can't imagine that we would be in a situation so late in the pandemic where we have good vaccinations, where we would then have 400, 500 deaths a day," says the Minister of Health on ZDF.

For Ethics Council member Stephan Rixen, these are “threat scenarios out of the blue”.

And Lauterbach also received criticism for this line from the ranks of the coalition partner.

"I think it's remarkable when the constitutionally justified goal of the corona measures is suddenly postponed - at the moment when there is no longer a risk of the health system being overloaded," says FDP Bundestag Vice President Wolfgang Kubicki of the

.