Federal Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth has the Corona resolutions by the federal and state governments defended. “The fact that clubs and discos have to close pains me a lot. Not only for the clubs and discos, but also especially for the young and the young at heart,” says Roth zur Süddeutsche Zeitung. In view of the pandemic, the decision is correct.
Closing clubs and discos (“dance fun”) after Christmas is one of the few restrictions that affect culture. The other incision concerns “major supraregional events”. These should take place “without an audience” after Christmas at the latest.
And what about theaters, museums, cinemas? Opening or closing them is again a matter for the federal states since the federal and state governments declared the end of the “pandemic situation of national scope” at the beginning of December. The states decide depending on the infection situation, in Bavaria possibly differently than in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Roth welcomed the fact that “cultural institutions can still remain open under 2G or 2G-plus conditions”.
In addition, a “consensus” has been reached that “cultural events are not simply equated with leisure activities”. In addition, the support for the cultural and event sectors has been renewed, and a special fund has recently also secured the voluntary cancellation of events. The managing director of the German Cultural Council, Olaf Zimmermann, called for an increase in the special fund on Wednesday.
The rapid spread of the virus variant Omikron is for Roth, the former manager of the band Clay, stones, shards, the first endurance test in office. So far, it has remained almost unnoticed that her authority will probably have a different, more extensive global access than under her predecessor Monika Grütters. Roth brought in Andreas Görgen, who was previously head of the department for foreign cultural policy in the Foreign Office. Among other things, Görgen pushed ahead with the restitution negotiations on the Benin bronzes, initiated international museum collaborations and, in the summer, promoted the evacuation of cultural workers from Afghanistan. He becomes Claudia Roth’s head of office. Michelle Müntefering, who as Minister of State for International Cultural Policy has never fallen on the floor against the power-conscious Grütters, no longer holds this office, but is a member of the SPD Bundestag.
Traditional areas of international cultural policy such as the Goethe-Institut remain under the responsibility of the Federal Foreign Office. There is no longer a State Secretary with proven cultural expertise or a cultural official profile. In culture, the borders between domestic and foreign policy are fluid, it has long been said from the Foreign Office. This is what one now hears from Roth’s ministry.