contents
The Minister of Health addressed the young people in the studio directly and thanked them for their behavior during the pandemic. He supported the call of the party leaders present for a relentless analysis of the crisis management.
There has probably never been a moment like this in the “Arena”: the group of guests applauded the audience, mostly students from Baden (AG) and canton students from Sursee (LU). The party leaders – including SP co-president Mattea Meyer and FDP vice-president Andrea Caroni – applauded a vote by Federal Councilor Alain Berset. After an hour of broadcasting, he spontaneously turned around and addressed the young people in the studio directly.
“They were all really perfect, congratulations,” said Berset: “You’ve worn a lot. It also gives me the opportunity to say a big thank you.”
The young people have carried a lot in this crisis.
The gratitude of the Minister of Health had to do with a request from the 19-year-old polygraph apprentice Dominik Beck: “In the event of a next pandemic, which we hope not to experience, the youth must be included in the task force.” It was difficult to decide who would represent the youth and the Federal Council therefore approached the young parties, according to Berset. “We in the Federal Council were very aware of what this situation was causing in terms of suffering and problems for young people.”
lessons from the crisis
The party leaders made clear demands to the Federal Council regarding the lessons learned from the crisis. Marcel Dettling, a member of the SVP party leadership, called for a crisis team in which the military and cantons should be better represented: “That was missing in this crisis”. FDP Vice President Andrea Caroni focused on digitization: “We have to get fitter here”.
For the parliamentary group leader in the middle, Philipp Matthias Bregy, the focus is on the national economic supply: “It cannot be that 95 percent of antibiotics are produced in China and that we are dependent on them in a crisis.” SP co-president Mattea Meyer identified a need for improvement in how society deals with the weakest in the crisis.
We need to become digitally fitter.
Ruthless analysis
Federal Councilor Berset admitted that not everything went perfectly: “We have to do a relentless, in-depth analysis.” This is necessary, according to the Minister of Health: “To talk bad about everything is also unfair”. After all, it was the worst crisis in 100 years, which could only be overcome with the solidarity of the people, according to Berset.