Thursday, November 25, 2021
Meeting with countries
“That’s enough” – Braun calls for the Corona emergency brake
In an internal conversation, the head of the Chancellery is said to have increased the pressure on the traffic lights with the words “We now need an emergency brake”. While Braun is getting support from Bavaria and Saxony, other countries are warning of a disproportionate lockdown.
In a conference between CDU Chancellor Helge Braun and his country colleagues, there was a dispute over tougher measures against the corona pandemic. According to information from the German Press Agency from participants, Braun put pressure on the traffic light parties SPD, Greens and FDP in a switching conference in the early afternoon. He was quoted as saying, “We need an emergency brake now.” Accordingly, Braun demanded: “Either the traffic light makes a law or we need a conference of prime ministers that decides on a clear emergency brake.”
In the next two weeks, there is a risk of a considerable overload of the health system, so Braun justified his demands. The intensive care units in many parts of the country would inevitably fill up more than last year at Christmas time.
The warning signal was the nationwide transfer of patients from so-called hotspots that began this week, Braun said. The measures now planned in the wake of last week’s Bund-Länder round and those that the likely next SPD Chancellor Olaf Scholz took when the traffic light coalition agreement was presented were not enough to avoid this.
Braun: “That’s enough”
Braun was quoted as saying: “That’s enough.” And further: “Now the old and the new ministers of the Chancellery and the old and the new health ministers have to sit down quickly to decide how to proceed.” The Ministry of Health of the Ampel government falls to the SPD – the occupation is still open. According to Braun, he was also ready to immediately deploy the crisis team planned by the traffic lights in the Chancellery, said Braun after this information. In the face of the crisis, he wanted a good transition between the two governments. However, the situation does not allow any hesitation or managerial reluctance.
Braun received support in particular from Bavaria and Saxony – the situation there is particularly dramatic. The Scholz confidante Wolfgang Schmidt, who is acted as the future head of the Chancellery, said that the expert assessments are different. The measures that are possible under the law have not yet been exhausted by the countries most affected. Schmidt’s view was supported by the representatives of Lower Saxony, Bremen and Hamburg, who pointed out a stable situation in the intensive care units and warned of a disproportionate lockdown.