The prime ministers are also sending very different signals.
(Photo: dpa)
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) continues with his opening plan where he left off with compulsory vaccination. While neighboring countries are relaxing or at least presenting exit plans, the federal government is hesitating with clear prospects – and is not in agreement on this issue either.
The FDP is speeding up, pushing for a quick end to the 2G measures in retail and gastronomy. Scholz and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) are slowing down and see the time for easing has not yet come. However, they do not reveal when which measure can actually be taken.
Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) also has no clear answer. Two weeks ago he named mid-February as the time for easing – and now he is talking about the time “well before Easter”. This might not be until March or April.
The prime ministers are also sending similarly different signals. While Schleswig-Holstein, Bavaria and Hesse are relaxing, other countries prefer to wait and see. Probably the most pressing question in the pandemic remains unanswered, it divides the federal and state governments.
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Just a reminder: Germany has one of the strictest corona regulations in the world, but there are no signs of the health system being overloaded in this country. It should come as no surprise that the population wants to know when they can return to normality. For restaurants, hotels and retail, the measures also mean sometimes painful losses in sales. Clubs are completely closed.
>> Read here: Compulsory vaccinations: What Germany can learn from the pioneers Italy and Austria
Only the Prime Ministers’ Conference in the coming week should create clarity. Scholz and the 16 country heads then have to present a uniform and binding timetable that shows the way out of the corona measures. This is long overdue. Since the beginning of the pandemic, politicians have been avoiding it. Lockdowns, contact restrictions and hygiene rules were decided at record speed – but an end to the measures was never defined.
Courts often had to show politicians the limits. This was the case with the curfew, the ban on accommodation or – at least in some federal states – with the 2G rule in retail. But it would be better if politicians set limits for themselves. Because even the patience of the population has limits.
More: Now Bavaria is also relaxing: the federal and state governments want to discuss specific openings next week