On Thursday, the Bundestag will vote on compulsory vaccination.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin The advocates of compulsory vaccination in the traffic light coalition continue to fight for a majority in the vote in the Bundestag. Whether this will succeed remained open until the end. The two groups of deputies, each of whom had introduced their own draft legislation for compulsory vaccination, agreed on a joint proposal for compulsory vaccination from the age of 60 for the time being. This at least increases the chances of voting, which is planned for this Thursday without the usual group guidelines.
The compromise provides for “a vaccination certificate for all people over the age of 60 years, i.e. the particularly vulnerable population group”. It should take effect from October. The obligation to vaccinate should still be able to be suspended by a Bundestag decision in June if the vaccination rate is increased sufficiently.
In the autumn, against the background of the then prevailing knowledge and potential virus variants, the Bundestag is to decide “whether the activation of the obligation to provide proof of vaccination for age groups from 18 years of age should also take effect”.
With the compromise, the advocates of compulsory vaccination joined forces. Specifically, it is the group around SPD parliamentary group leader Dirk Wiese and the Greens health expert Janosch Dahmen, who initially aimed for compulsory vaccination from the age of 18.
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The second group, led by the FDP health politician Andrew Ullmann, had proposed compulsory advice and then a possible compulsory vaccination from the age of 50.
However, Ullmann’s group lost supporters as a result of the compromise. This also includes the FDP parliamentary group leader Christian Dürr. “I was inclined to agree to the application for advice because I would have found the procedure to be very useful,” Dürr told Handelsblatt. “As this proposal has been withdrawn, I cannot agree to any of the motions that are on the table. I will put a statement on that for the record.”
The decisive factor is the behavior of the Union faction
Other FDP politicians do not seem to support the compromise either. According to FDP circles, around ten MPs who had previously wanted to approve Ullmann’s application have now dropped out. “I know that the result did not convince all the supporters in my group, but the chances of mandatory advice in connection with mandatory vaccination have now increased,” said Ullmann.
The behavior of the Union faction is also decisive. She has her own proposal and has not yet indicated whether she will agree to the compromise with compulsory vaccination from the age of 60.
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