When the talk show was broadcast and the message was also spread via Twitter that night, the formal appearance in the atrium of the Ministry of Health in Berlin’s Friedrichstrasse followed almost twelve hours later – without a mask, without an audience of millions, without a studio.
The initially planned end of the obligation to isolate infected people is “a mistake for which I am also personally responsible,” said Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD). The reactions to it would have convinced him that this would send “the wrong signal psychologically” and would be understood as a step towards relaxation. Therefore, the isolation obligation should remain. A new proposal should now go to the federal states.
It is the temporary end of an unprecedented turnaround. He’s right about that. Experts and associations were unanimously outraged by the new rules. However, how Lauterbach made this decision, how he announced it – he not only took the public by surprise, but also his coalition right down to the federal states that were not in the know.
Countries feel left out again
It wasn’t planned, on the contrary. Lauterbach announced last week that he wanted to carefully coordinate the decision with the federal states and not override them again, as was the case with the Infection Protection Act. Here the federal government had decided on its own to lift almost all corona measures – against broad protests from the federal states, which spoke of a “break” in relations. The fact that Lauterbach was now involving the federal states more closely, that he wanted to take his time, sounded like an attempt at reconciliation – and a well-considered approach.
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A week ago, the 16 health ministers actually received a proposal drawn up by Lauterbach and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) to lift the obligation to isolate and quarantine. The countries should be given enough time to evaluate the plans before the virtual conference with Lauterbach on Monday.
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There the health ministers then unanimously passed their decision, which is almost word for word similar to the original proposal. Lauterbach then announced the plan. His Bavarian counterpart Klaus Holetschek (CSU) said it was about the next step towards personal responsibility. “I appeal to people to be aware of this responsibility.”
By then, however, the damage had already been done. Even the Federal Association of Doctors in the Public Health Service (BVÖGD), which Lauterbach actually wanted to relieve, criticized the end of the isolation of infected people. The coalition partner also publicly called for the decision to be reversed.
“The abolition of the quarantine obligation gives the wrong impression that the transmission of the virus is medically unproblematic,” said the Greens health expert Janosch Dahmen on Tuesday.
But on Tuesday, Lauterbach defended the plan – also against internal criticism in the SPD parliamentary group meeting. MP Detlef Müller tweeted that it was a “loud and emotional” session. Only then, in the afternoon, did Lauterbach realize that the decision might have been a mistake.
Lauterbach said on Wednesday that if you see that proposals are not working, you have to withdraw them and not stubbornly stick with them. That’s why he announced the withdrawal of the proposals on Twitter that night. He didn’t let it go, but wanted to end it as soon as possible. He drew this conclusion after discussions with experts, doctors and his group – but apparently without informing anyone about it until his appearance on Markus Lanz on ZDF.
He even informed his coalition partners, the FDP and the Greens, on the night after the show had long since ended. And the federal states and large associations only found out from the media. A spokeswoman for the Baden-Württemberg Ministry of Health said on request that they heard about it “via talk show and Twitter”. A “workable proposal” is now expected for the next conference of health ministers next Monday.
Experts had sharply criticized the task of isolation
The procedure is also unfortunate because Lauterbach should have been clear about what Monday’s decision would do. No minister boasts so much about his expertise and his contacts in science. However, she consistently criticized the decision – not only as a fatal signal, as Lauterbach presented it on Wednesday, but also as irresponsible in terms of content.
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Instead of avoiding staff shortages as hoped, more and more infected people would come to work and infect others, said the Secretary General of the German Society for Immunology, Carsten Watzl. “So the number of infections will increase. However, this will also increase the number of illnesses that will lead to staff being absent again.”
Lauterbach hasn’t cut a good figure since this episode. Lauterbach is “a specialist”, many would have wished for him, explained Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) in December of his appointment. Since the beginning of the corona crisis, he has been the chief admonisher, but has received little enforcement in everyday government life.
Not only did his fans resent the fact that many corona measures were taken when the number of infections rushed from record to record, but also shocked the federal states and experts. The fact that the general vaccination requirement for adults does not come is another defeat for Lauterbach, who fought for it for a long time.
Many in the coalition blame the FDP and their liberal corona course. At the same time, Lauterbach seems weak because he can no longer assert anything against the smallest party in the governing alliance. This is also increasingly damaging his reputation.
In the Insa politician ranking of “Bild” he slipped to third place this week, but is still the most respected minister in Scholz’s cabinet behind Robert Habeck (Greens). The bickering about the quarantine rules will not help him with such surveys.
On the contrary: everyone who viewed Lauterbach with skepticism should now feel confirmed. Before his appointment, many in his party thought he was unpredictable and had serious doubts that he would submit in the cabinet. Lauterbach was therefore not the first choice for chancellor, he would have preferred to appoint other candidates to his side. However, Lauterbach said on Wednesday that he had not yet thought about resigning.
More: These SPD ministers do not cut a happy figure