Tuesday, November 30th, 2021
FDP defends traffic light course
Buschmann regrets the Karlsruhe judgment
The upcoming Federal Justice Minister Buschmann was involved in FDP lawsuits against the lockdown – and suffered a setback in Karlsruhe. Then he makes no secret of his disappointment and still tries to win arguments in his favor from the judgment.
The designated Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann regretted the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court on the legality of the so-called Corona emergency brake from last spring. “I can explain that we would have wished for a different result,” said the FDP politician, who was involved in the lawsuit by members of his party against the law at the time. Nevertheless, the FDP will “of course” respect the decision of the highest German court.
The Federal Constitutional Court ruled that the school closings at the time as well as exit and contact restrictions to protect against the pandemic were lawful. Buschmann pointed out, however, that the court had emphasized a “wide scope for decision-making” in politics. This means that the actions of the Union and the SPD, which the Greens had also supported, “was not forbidden at the time. But it was also not necessary to impose curfews.”
Buschmann rejected allegations, especially against his party, of preventing more effective countermeasures in the current corona situation. First, the grand coalition’s old infection protection law did not prevent the current fourth wave, he said. Second, it is wrong that there are now fewer options for countermeasures. He referred to the new measures decided jointly with the SPD and the Greens, such as 3G at work and in public transport.
Last week, the traffic light parties let the epidemic situation of national scope that had prevailed until then expire, mainly due to pressure from the FDP. Since then, certain measures such as curfews or general shop closings are no longer possible. “There is no point in forbidding people to go outside at night,” said Buschmann again against curfews.
Buschmann campaigned for a differentiated approach depending on the regional location. For example, “more must be done in Saxony” because the number of infections is particularly high there. The FDP politician named the closure of clubs and discos and restrictions on major events as a possibility. According to the current legal situation, this is also possible with the consent of the state parliament. For protection in schools, Buschmann advocated “a mobile vaccination bus in front of every school” as well as a mask requirement rather than possible school closings.