Status: 10/26/2021 3:29 p.m.
Around two dozen parliamentarians – all from the AfD – had to watch the session of the Bundestag from the stands. They had declined to provide evidence of vaccination, recovery, or a negative corona test.
At the constituent session of the Bundestag, around two dozen MPs did not accept the 3G regulation that applies due to Corona. They therefore had to take a seat in a specially reserved grandstand. 22 of the 82 AfD MPs were involved, as the AfD politician Malte Kaufmann wrote on Twitter.
Nevertheless, they were able to take part in the votes on the new parliamentary presidium. There were delays, however, as voting in the stands had to be made in writing instead of using the normal electronic system. The AfD politician Karsten Hilse wore a sticker with the words “not vaccinated” during the meeting. Prominent AfD MPs such as parliamentary group leader Alice Weidel adhered to the regulation and sat downstairs in the plenary hall.
Allegations of the Greens
The Green health expert Janosch Dahmen has sharply criticized the boycott of the 3G rule. With this, the AfD proves once again “that it is the parliamentary arm of the ‘lateral thinking’ movement,” he wrote on Twitter.
The parliamentary groups had previously jointly decided that only those MPs who have been vaccinated, recovered or have been tested for the corona virus at short notice may come to the lower area of the plenary chamber in the Reichstag building. With the appropriate evidence, they were given a black, red and gold ribbon around an arm joint.
In return, there were no longer any distance rules, so that all 736 MPs were able to follow the meeting in the plenary hall. The AfD tried to overturn this regulation during the meeting. But it failed because of the resistance of the other factions.
Corona rules continue to apply for the time being
As one of the first official acts, the Bundestag adopted new rules of procedure, but the AfD abstained. The new version retains the special rules that were decided during the previous legislative period due to the corona pandemic. This means that the option of taking part in committee meetings and voting there using electronic means of communication remains. In addition, it should be made possible to grant access to public committee deliberations and hearings exclusively through electronic transmission channels.
The previous special corona regulation that the Bundestag has a quorum when a quarter of its members are present is no longer applicable with the new rules of procedure. This is no longer necessary because of the 3G rule in force in the Bundestag, said the Green Parliament Secretary Britta Haßelmann.