Status: 27.12.2021 10:18 a.m.
A general compulsory corona vaccination is still very controversial in the FDP. Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Kretschmann has no understanding for this – and harshly criticizes the liberals.
The Prime Minister of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, has sharply criticized the resistance within the FDP to a general vaccination requirement. “The statement by Wolfgang Kubicki that many proponents of mandatory vaccination are about revenge and retaliation is simply irresponsible and completely unsuitable for adequately conducting the debate,” said the Green politician of the dpa news agency.
Kretschmann said he was glad that the FDP had at least agreed to compulsory vaccination for staff in facilities such as clinics and nursing homes and that FDP boss Christian Lindner had meanwhile spoken out in favor of a general compulsory vaccination. “But now we have to see how that develops with the group proposals,” he said. “Now one can only hope that there is a group that has a majority in favor of compulsory vaccination.” But he does not give up and is checking whether this can also be fed in via the Federal Council.
“On a common denominator with the CDU on corona policy”
Kretschmann considers the FDP, with which his party governs in the federal government, to be the much more difficult coalition partner in the fight against the corona pandemic than the CDU. “One of the reasons why I form a coalition with the Christian Democrats in the country: Because I am on a common denominator with those in the Corona policy on fundamental issues,” said the Green politician. “We’re pulling in the same direction from the start.”
FDP parliamentary group leader Hans-Ulrich Rülke, on the other hand, has considered all the state government’s measures against the virus to be excessive and even described instruments such as curfews as nonsense, criticized Kretschmann. “Fortunately, the Federal Constitutional Court saw things very differently.”
The deputy FDP chairman Wolfang Kubicki recently sharply criticized proponents of a general compulsory corona vaccination and accused them of revenge on unvaccinated people as a motive. The Bundestag is expected to decide on a general obligation to vaccinate against the coronavirus in the coming year in a free vote without parliamentary group discipline.
Esken demands persuasion from unvaccinated people
The SPD co-chair, Saskia Esken, also spoke out in favor of compulsory vaccination if the vaccination rate does not increase significantly. “I would like to convince everyone that vaccination is the right way to protect yourself, your loved ones, but also society,” Esken said in the joint morning magazine of ARD and ZDF. “If we don’t succeed in doing that with all of them, then there must be a compulsory vaccination.”
She is firmly convinced “that we can still reach many who have not been vaccinated,” said Esken. From their point of view, persuasion about the advantages of protection through vaccination is “the right way”.
80 percent vaccination quota targeted by the end of January
The federal government had originally hoped to achieve the 80 percent first vaccination by January 7th. One year after the start of the vaccination campaign, around 74 percent of the population have now received at least one dose against Covid-19. This is “pretty good,” said Esken. “We should actually reach 80 percent by the end of January.”
She believes that many people have been against the vaccination “not out of general rejection”, but because they were unsure about side effects. These fears have not come true after “the vaccine has been tested on billions of people – in a large field trial around the world, so to speak”.
Because for a vaccination rate of over 90 percent
Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil advocated a vaccination rate of over 90 percent among adults: “If we manage to achieve a high level of vaccination protection in society as a whole, we will be able to deal with the pandemic in the future,” said Weil. “We need a vaccination rate of well over 90 percent for adults.” Society is not at the mercy of the virus.
He is currently more concerned about the corona pandemic than last winter. “A year ago at this time I was more optimistic,” said the SPD politician to the dpa news agency. “I was hoping that we could put an end to the virus with the vaccination campaign that started. Today I know that Corona is an extremely stubborn opponent.”