Sunday, November 28th, 2021
Under the direction of a general
Lindner announces Corona crisis team for this week
One of the announced plans of the future traffic light government is the establishment of a corona crisis team. He could start work in a few days, with a general at the helm. Meanwhile, FDP leader Lindner defends his party’s line in the crisis.
FDP boss Christian Lindner has announced a corona crisis team for this week. “At the top will be a German general,” said Lindner on ZDF. He didn’t give a name. However, the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” reported that it was supposed to be a logistics expert from the Bundeswehr. According to this, Major General Carsten Breuer is under discussion. The 56-year-old is the commander of the Bundeswehr Territorial Tasks Command, which is responsible for domestic operations by the armed forces.
In the coalition agreement, the SPD, the Greens and the FDP agreed that the future federal government would “immediately” set up a new crisis team “to better coordinate the nationwide fight against the corona pandemic”. Now the body comes into being before the government is set up.
SPD leader Saskia Esken confirmed on Twitter that the body would start work “shortly”. “Also the question of further measures to break the current wave of infections, to stop the collapse of the health system and to prevent a fifth wave, will be the topic of the deliberations in the crisis team,” she wrote. In response to questions from Twitter users, she tweeted: “Please make it clear to you that the traffic light is not there yet and that we have to work in close coordination with the federal states _and_ the executive federal government.”
Chancellor-designate Olaf Scholz of the SPD announced on Saturday a “new, precise way of dealing with the current challenges” via Twitter and referred to the crisis team to be set up. “We will do everything that is necessary. There is nothing that cannot be taken into account,” assured Scholz.
Lindner for audience limitation
Lindner also defends his party’s line in the Corona crisis. It is now a matter of “finally fighting consistently” against the pandemic, he says on ZDF. “From our point of view, curfews are an instrument that has a very high social price, with a benefit that has not been clearly proven.” He is against a debate in which it is always only about ultima-ratio measures. But there must be contact restrictions.
A decision by the Federal Constitutional Court on constitutional complaints against the federal corona emergency brake from the spring is expected on Tuesday. Lindner emphasized that one would evaluate very carefully what was compatible with the Basic Law.
The FDP boss and designated finance minister of the Ampel coalition also spoke out in favor of limiting the number of spectators at football games. He was “a big friend of the Bundesliga,” said Lindner. “But in view of the pandemic, the pictures full of football stadiums disturb me,” he emphasized. “Such leisure events cannot take place in this dimension at the moment.” The contacts would have to be reduced “in order to protect health and freedom equally”.
The designated Federal Family Minister Anne Spiegel von den Grünen also campaigned for more contact restrictions. “In my opinion, the current measures that we have taken are not enough to really reduce the number of infections,” she told ARD. With a view to full football stadiums, she emphasized that major events “in this form” should no longer be carried out.
Traffic light sees countries as an obligation
Green health expert Janosch Dahmen also believes that further steps to protect against infection are necessary. “The executive and new federal government will have to deal with the additional regulations that need to be initiated in the short term in order to flank the already possible protective measures and enable an even more consistent fight against the pandemic,” he said in the “Welt” interview. Federal states that are particularly hard hit would have to be able to impose nationwide measures, from banning major events and meetings to nationwide closings of restaurants. But even now more measures must be taken.
“Full football stadiums, crowded Christmas markets or schools in which no mask is required are certainly not helpful in fighting pandemics,” said Dahmen. Politicians from the SPD and FDP see the federal states in particular as having an obligation. The SPD health expert Sabine Dittmar told the “Welt”: “The federal states have all legal options in hand to order contact restrictions in public and private areas and should use them resolutely.”
Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder reiterated his calls for a national emergency brake and a general vaccination requirement on ARD. In his opinion, this would end the division in society. He is convinced that in the end the very large part of the population will get vaccinated. “The longer politics hesitates, the deeper the crack in society becomes,” warned Söder. With a view to football, the CSU boss said: “We should finally be talking about ghost games in football soon, and in a uniform manner.”