Because of the significantly increasing corona numbers, the SPD, Greens and FDP are already under enormous pressure to act before the official formation of a traffic light coalition. On Sunday, the Robert Koch Institute reported 191.5 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants and week – almost 30 percent more than on the previous Sunday. In a Saxon district, the incidence even rose to 865.1. The situation has also worsened in Bavaria.
The future traffic light coalition therefore want to present a draft law this Monday “for an appropriate and resolute fight against Corona”. It is to be deliberated in the Bundestag for the first time on Thursday and decided by parliament a week later. The urgency is also necessary because the “epidemic situation of national scope” expires on November 25th, which is the basis of many previous measures to combat corona.
On Sunday it was said in the heads of the future coalition factions that they were still in the process of “finalizing” the bill. Several components were already emerging. Among other things, there should be a catalog of possible measures to combat the pandemic in the Infection Protection Act. On this basis, federal states should, for example, decide on mask requirements and distance requirements or certain freedoms can only be granted to those who have recovered, vaccinated and tested. But there should no longer be a lockdown.
CSU leader Markus Söder criticized the actions of the SPD, Greens and FDP. He complained that the epidemic emergency should end. “We now urgently need uniform solutions,” said Söder, but “the traffic light is ducking completely away”.
At the top of the Green parliamentary group, they were outraged by Söder’s statement. There it was pointed out that it was Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) – and thus a Union politician – who had already called for the epidemic to expire several weeks ago. In addition, the federal government is still in office, so it could act itself. And Söder already has the tools in hand to be able to act with all his might against the pandemic in Bavaria.
Marco Buschmann, the First Parliamentary Managing Director of the FDP parliamentary group, said the Süddeutsche Zeitung: “Our job as parliament is to legislate – and we do that in the fight against the pandemic.” Those who claim that the SPD, the Greens and the FDP are not doing anything are saying “simply the untruth and may only do so to make a name for themselves”. He considers that “particularly inappropriate for such a sensitive topic”.
The epidemic situation was determined by the Bundestag in March 2020 and has been extended repeatedly since then. The determination of the emergency enables governments to impose far-reaching restrictions even without the consent of parliaments. With the end of the emergency, such restrictions would be “repaired” again, it was said by the FDP and the Greens.