Monday 22 November 2021
Green politician commits himself
Kretschmann now also for compulsory vaccination
In the past, Baden-Württemberg’s head of state Kretschmann does not want to rule out a general vaccination requirement. Now the Green politician takes a clear position. Together with CSU leader Markus Söder, he is calling for everyone to be vaccinated so that “we can regain our freedom”.
In the debate about a general compulsory vaccination, Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann took the side of the supporters. “An obligation to vaccinate is not a violation of civil liberties – it is rather a prerequisite for us to regain our freedom,” wrote the Green politician in a joint guest article with Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder for the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” (FAZ).
Söder had previously said after a meeting of the CSU board that the party leadership was behind his proposal for a general vaccination requirement. A partial compulsory vaccination, initially proposed by him, for example for some professional groups, would create injustice. Only the general compulsory vaccination is a solution in the long run.
“Our Basic Law does not protect a freedom of arbitrariness”, wrote Kretschmann and Söder in the “FAZ”. It follows “rather the principle of freedom in responsibility”. “It obliges us to weight the freedoms of all those affected and to make decisions on this basis,” declared the two prime ministers.
In Germany everyone could think what they wanted and be as stubborn as they wanted. But there is a limit “if one’s own worldview causes serious damage to other people”. “That is exactly the case with the question of refusal to vaccinate,” wrote Kretschmann and Söder.
“The result of this consideration is now that we are not getting anywhere with milder means, the demand for a general vaccination,” it said in the guest post. This will not divide society either. Rather, society threatens to “break up” if the state “lets things go”.