As of: March 25, 2024, 7:14 p.m
By: Sarah El Sheimy
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Armin Laschet calls for a comprehensive review of Corona policy - and reiterates the FDP's calls for a study commission.
Berlin - Former CDU chairman Armin Laschet told ZDF that
the
political decisions in connection with the corona pandemic should be examined.
He reinforced the FDP's demand for a corresponding study commission in the Bundestag.
Laschet also referred to the protocols of the crisis team of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), which the right-wing online magazine “Multipolar” published last week.
Laschet told ZDF
that it is important to think about how actions were taken during the corona pandemic
.
“Overall, the debate was very moralizing: Either you are for one measure, or you are a Corona denier.” The CDU politician demanded that politics and the media now critically question themselves, and spoke of one in the “heute journal” several times “Division of society”.
He also referred to other topics such as dealing with the climate crisis and “war”.
Without mask?
Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet (CDU) was caught without corona protection.
© Michael Kappeler/dpa/picture alliance
Laschet wants a “new culture of dialogue” after the corona pandemic
“How did we discuss back then?
How did we deal with other opinions?
This continues to this day, still a fire for populists to stir up sentiment against the state,” said Laschet.
He particularly referred to the handling of virologists such as Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit and Hendrik Streeck during the pandemic.
According to the CDU politician, a “new culture of dialogue” is needed in order for the mood to “calm down”.
Shortly before, the virologist Streeck, mentioned by Laschet, had accused the parties in Germany in the
Augsburger Allgemeine Zeitung
of not being sufficiently interested in coming to terms with the political decisions in connection with the corona pandemic.
Politics has “hidden” behind science, said Streeck.
“The biggest mistake since the beginning of the pandemic was that we failed to represent and communicate the multifaceted nature of the necessary expertise.”
Laschet's demand: processing by politicians and the media
Armin Laschet agreed with this wording when he criticized
ZDF
: “We should have used scientific expertise in a more diverse way.” Little of the “diversity of opinion” in the RKI was incorporated into the “concrete policy”, only one position was considered the “ “the only correct one”.
Laschet generally advocated greater independence for the RKI from the Federal Ministry of Health.
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In his remarks on “differenced” discussions within the RKI, Laschet referred to the
minutes of the RKI crisis team published by the right-wing online magazine
Multipolar .
The fact that these protocols were “sued” by a platform that is said to be conspiracy theory means that quality media did not do this, said Laschet.
“In the media” there must be an equally critical assessment as in politics.
RKI protocols raise doubts about the legitimacy of Corona measures
Multipolar
published the minutes last week with the comment that “more than a thousand passages were blacked out.”
According to its own information, the online magazine is currently complaining about this.
Based on the minutes, ZDF
states that in a meeting of the RKI crisis team in October 2020 it was stated that there was “no evidence for the use of FFP2 masks outside of occupational safety” and that this information “will be made available to the public.” could.
However, that never happened.
In addition, there were already concerns about the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine in older people in January 2021.
Two months later, the Standing Vaccination Commission recommended the vaccine for all age groups.
ZDF
also reports that privileges for vaccinated and convalescent people were actually declared by the RKI in March 2021 as “not technically justifiable”.
FDP request for study commission on the pandemic – Laschet agrees
Armin Laschet reiterated to
ZDF
the FDP's demand for the establishment of a study commission in the Bundestag.
Study commissions are made up of representatives and experts and advise the Bundestag on important topics with recommendations for legislation.
The FDP parliamentary group repeated its older call for a study commission last week in a letter to the Greens and the SPD.
The initiators were the health policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Andrew Ullmann, and vice-chairman Wolfgang Kubicki.
“It must not happen again that in a possible upcoming crisis situation we hand over our rights and obligations as a parliament to the executive branch, that fundamental rights are affected due to weak data, that our children's educational opportunities are reduced and that political decision-makers themselves promote social divisions “says the letter, according to
Welt
, which first reported on the letter.
The letter ends with a request to the traffic light factions to enter into discussions about setting up a study commission, “so that in one, two or even ten years we don't have to blame ourselves for not doing anything when we had the opportunity to do so “.
Lauterbach for Corona processing, but against commission
According to AFP,
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach spoke
out in favor of addressing Corona policy at the beginning of March, but according to the politician, this had already started during the pandemic.
“Any new ideas about this are welcome at any time,” Lauterbach told
Spiegel
, but was skeptical about the need for a study commission.
Armin Laschet told
ZDF
that Lauterbach did not welcome a study commission on the grounds that it would be the wind in the sails of right-wing populists.
Laschet sees it differently: “If we don’t do it, it will help conspiracy theorists.”
Last Monday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz appointed the new “Expert Council on Health and Resilience”.
According to the federal government, this follows the “Corona Expert Council” and will address the question of “how the healthcare system and society can best respond to future health crises”.
It is a “lesson from the pandemic” that the healthcare system must be made more resilient and robust, said Chancellor Scholz at the founding of the Council.
“Also with regard to the consequences of climate change and demographic development.”
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