Friday, February 05, 2021
FDP man Kuhle in the "early start"
"Merkel neglects communication"
Does the Chancellor still motivate the people to persevere? FDP domestic politician Konstantin Kuhle sees deficits and criticizes Angela Merkel again when dealing with the Bundestag.
In the RTL / ntv interview, Chancellor Angela Merkel defended her Corona strategy and called on citizens to persevere. For FDP domestic politician Konstantin Kuhle, however, that is no longer enough. In his words, the Chancellor is very interested in the administrative work in the background. "But communication in this crisis is one of her tasks and she has neglected that in the last few weeks and months," said Kuhle in "ntv Frühstart". Merkel is convinced of what she is doing, but there is a "great fatigue effect".
Kuhle also thinks it's wrong that Merkel wants to make her government statement on the corona measures next Thursday – so only on the day after the conference with the federal states. "The debate must take place beforehand in the Bundestag. Also, so that the citizens can get an idea of what the federal government's plans actually are," said Kuhle.
The domestic policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group spoke out in front of the federal-state consultations on Wednesday in favor of a nationwide step-by-step plan that couples corona measures to incidences. The guiding line should be the proposal of the state government of Schleswig-Holstein, the CDU. The Greens and the FDP exist. According to this plan, easing and tightening would be based on regional infection numbers.
Actions need to be justified
At prime ministerial conferences, relaxation must always be discussed, Kuhle demanded. The relationship between rules and exceptions has meanwhile been reversed. Those who wanted to loosen up would have to justify themselves for "forever". "This rule-exception relationship has to be turned on its head again. Those who want to tighten the measures have to justify themselves." Kuhle would abolish the radius of movement for citizens in Corona hotspots. "This 15-kilometer radius is absolute nonsense." It makes a difference whether you are in a big city or in a rural region.
The FDP domestic politician said it was right to restrict travel as much as possible at the moment. However, the rules must also be applicable. "There are already a lot of rules in place today that are not enforced at all." As an example, Kuhle cited the quarantine requirement for return travelers. "Someone who comes back from abroad should be able to report directly and unbureaucratically to the local health department via a digital interface." In this way it can be understood whether he is in quarantine. Kuhle rejected border closings. "That would be bad news, especially for the border regions."
Kuhle also welcomed the admission of a mistake made by EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the procurement of vaccines. That is a contribution to a new error culture. What is needed now is an examination of the problems across the institutions. "It's about the fact that people don't understand that the provincial capitals Brussels and Berlin hold each other responsible – and in the end your own grandmother and grandfather don't get an appointment."
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