Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and Health Minister Jens Spahn visited the Robert Koch Institute on Tuesday

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Health Minister Jens Spahn used a visit to the government’s agency for disease control and prevention, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), on Tuesday to urge the public to get vaccinated.

But the chancellor also said there were currently no plans to make the jab compulsory. The comments came a day after France made vaccines mandatory for all health workers.

Mandating vaccines could risk mistrust

Merkel said “We are still a long way off” from meeting the vaccine quota needed to stop aggressive new variants. Merkel said stopping the spread of the virus and defending against new variants would require 85% vaccination among 12-to-59-year-olds and 90% among those over 60.

Despite a slow start, about 43% of the nation’s population is now fully vaccinated.

Still, Merkel stressed there would be no obligation to vaccinate in Germany, saying that mandating shots could endanger public trust.

In outlining her preference for voluntary rather than mandatory vaccination, Merkel said: “I think we can gain trust by advertising vaccination and also by letting as many people as possible become ambassadors for the vaccine from their own experience.”

“And that’s why I tell everyone who is still unsure whether to get vaccinated: A vaccination not only protects you, but also those close to you, someone who is important to you, someone you love,” she added.

France, Greece, Italy take a different course

Yesterday, France gave healthcare workers until September 15 to get fully vaccinated or face suspension without pay.

Greece, too, on Monday announced mandatory immunization for healthcare workers who have until September 1 to get the jab; and nursing staff, who will be required to begin receiving vaccinations immediately. Italy imposed such a mandate in May.

On Tuesday, Belgian hospitals published an open letter calling for mandatory vaccinations at the nation’s hospitals and healthcare facilities.

Merkel called on people in the country to talk about getting the vaccine with their loved ones as well as in clubs, groups, and the workplace.

“The more vaccinated, the freer we will be again, the freer we can live again,” she added.

Spahn, meanwhile, said that it was no longer a valid excuse to claim there were no vaccine appointments available. He pointed to a large number of vaccines that were now on offer in the country.

Merkel said that the social distancing rules would continue as will the comprehensive testing program. While the signs were positive, the pandemic was not yet over, Merkel added.

Cases in Germany ticking up

Merkel made the comments as the RKI reported the country’s seven-day incidence rate had increased to 6.5 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants.

Merkel listened to the latest information on coronavirus variants from infections disease experts at the Robert Koch Institute

Despite being well below a peak of 195 per 100,000 in December 2020, the figure represents a slight increase from the low of 4.9 one week earlier.

The more contagious delta variant is thought to be behind more than 50% of active cases in the country.

Other key points from the RKI visit

During the visit to the Berlin-based agency, Merkel listened as officials discussed their current tasks, plans, and challenges in relation to the delta variant.

Merkel discussed plans to include the number of COVID-19 hospital admissions when assessing the nationwide state of the pandemic.

To date, the seven-day incidence rate has been the decisive metric.

Merkel said the seven-day incidence remained important but that the relationship between the incidence number and hospital admissions had changed. This is because the number of people experiencing serious COVID infections has fallen as a result of the country’s ongoing vaccination campaign.

In addition to providing protection against getting the virus in the first place, vaccines also make the severe illness less likely should a vaccinated person nevertheless become infected.

Government advisors, such as Wolfram Henn of the German Ethics Council, have also called for teachers to be immunized. The geneticist told Germany’s Bild newspaper: “Teachers and educators, by virtue of their choice of profession, have a very special responsibility towards the people entrusted to them.”

What do we know about the delta variant?

The new, more contagious delta variant itself has also undergone several mutations. The exact functions of those mutations have not yet been fully scientifically researched.

So far, however, it is known that they allow the virus to bind more easily to human cells and avoid some immune reactions, as Deepti Gurdasani, a clinical epidemiologist at the Queen Mary University of London, told DW.

Peggy Riese, a scientist at the Helmholtz Center for Infection Research in Braunschweig, Germany, says the delta mutation has also been found to produce higher viral loads, for example, in the throat.

Several European countries have recently reported rises in new infections partly driven by the variant, sparking fears of a European “delta wave.”

kmm, js/msh (dpa, AFP)

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/covid-angela-merkel-says-no-plans-for-mandatory-vaccines-in-germany/a-58250471

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Germany is battling against the possibility of a third wave, according to Merkel

Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged on Friday that Germany’s vaccine rollout had been a “disappointment” after a slow start, but said previously empty vaccination centers would be used to their full potential within weeks.

In December, Germany’s vaccine program began in earnest, and the country has so far administered about 3.8 million shots.

But the vaccination locations set up in exhibition halls and sports centers across Germany have seen few patients thus far, as many of the jabs have been administered to people in nursing homes and hospitals.

The government has reported that deliveries of the three vaccines already approved would be ramped up in the next few weeks, and by Easter all people in the highest priority group will have been offered the COVID-19 jab.

“These centers will be at full capacity at the end of March, April,” Merkel said.

Lockdown needs to be gradual

Merkel also called for caution in the easing of coronavirus restrictions, in order to prevent a third wave of infections.

In an interview with public broadcaster ZDF, she said: “It depends on us and smart opening moves whether we will get through the pandemic without a strong third wave — or if we are too careless and perhaps will have rising numbers again.”

The federal government, along with the 16 state premiers, agreed on Wednesday to prolong the months-long lockdown until March 7, though hairdressers and schools are set to reopen sooner.

Merkel said the decision to open schools was already “a bold step.”

It is up to each of the German states to choose when to send children back into classrooms, with many set to take that step as early as February 22.

Spahn: Encouraging signs, but more progress needed

Health Minister Jens Spahn said Friday there had been an “encouragingly strong” reduction in the numbers of infections in Germany.

But he warned that the progress was still insufficient to justify lifting the lockdown, pointing to the risks posed by more virulent strains of the virus that have emerged in recent weeks.

“Better to hold on now for a while longer than risk setbacks,” he said.

Some states could open up parts of society even sooner than March 7 if infection rates fall enough, as part of the agreement struck between Merkel and the 16 premiers.

In accordance with the agreement, the “next opening step” can come when new cases fall to 35 or fewer per 100,000 residents over a seven-day period. This would include the reopening of high-street retailers, as well as museums and galleries.

Some German districts already have a seven-day incidence rate of below 35. However, none of the 16 states as a whole has reached that goal.

Strict border controls

While finding a way out of the lockdown becomes slightly more feasible, finding a way into the country became more difficult this week.

The Czech Republic, Slovakia, and parts of Austria were the latest regions to be added to the list of “areas of variant concern,” according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

In addition, from Sunday, people will not be allowed to enter Germany from those regions, except for special circumstances.

The announcement came after the South African B.1.351 coronavirus variant was found to be prevalent in Austria’s Tyrol region and the British B.1.1.7 variant was found circulating in the Czech Republic.

German interior minister Horst Seehofer said that checkpoints would be established on the border, but that commercial travel would not be disrupted. Returning Germans and essential workers such as doctors will also be exempted.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-angela-merkel-vows-to-improve-coronavirus-vaccine-rollout-but-warns-of-mutations/a-56556191

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With German coronavirus caseloads plateauing, but not sinking, calls for tougher restrictions are mounting

Germany may need to introduce more restrictions to curb the spread of the coronavirus, Health Minister Jens Spahn said on Tuesday.

“A short and comprehensive approach to really make a difference is probably more successful,” Spahn told public broadcaster Phoenix.

The country has been under a partial lockdown and imposed social distancing rules since November 2, which stopped a trend of growth nationwide. But the measures have caused caseloads to plateau, rather than to sink notably so far.

“If we don’t get there within the next one or two weeks until Christmas, we have to discuss it,” Spahn said.

The health minister’s remarks come as a growing number of political leaders in the country have urged the government to take action this month and after Chancellor Angela Merkel CDU politicians that she would favor tougher measures to bring down infections

Merkel: need more than ‘hope’

“We will not get anywhere on the principle of hope,” Merkel reportedly told party colleagues. CDU politicians said that she also complained of “too much talk about mulled wine stands… and too little talk about nurses and carers.”

Germany’s influential National Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina, sounded the alarm on Tuesday, saying that a “hard lockdown” between December 24 and January 10 was necessary to reduce caseloads in the country.

Leopoldina also suggested that schools should close early, on December 14, either moving to online classes or to early Christmas holidays, and “public life should broadly come to a halt in all of Germany” for at least two weeks after Christmas.

‘Enormous risks,’ but also an ‘enormous chance’ over the festive period

Professor Ralph Hertwig, one of the co-authors of the Leopoldina statement and a psychologist at the Max Planck Institute in Berlin, told DW that the Christmas period represented a unique opportunity to bring the infection rate back under control in Germany.

“The holiday season presents enormous risks, but interestingly, it also presents us with an enormous chance, because during the holiday season, life is being decelerated all over. Shops are closed. Public places are closed,” Hertwig told DW.

“If such a circuit breaker or a hard lockdown is necessary, then let’s do it through a time in which we — through our culture anyhow — are staying at home.”

He told DW that other countries had successfully implemented a hard, circuit-breaker lockdown.

“If we compare the situation in Germany to other countries, such as the Belgium or Ireland, they went through such a quick, brief, and very hard lockdown. And their numbers are much, much better than the ones in Germany.”

He said the initial phase of self-isolation was necessary to avoid infections among Christmas events.

“On the 24th, you may meet the family members who you haven’t seen in quite some time. And of course, at that point, you want to make sure that you are not spreading the virus or that you don’t have active symptoms.”

Federal states weigh in

New restrictions nationwide would require the agreement of both Merkel’s government and those of all the heads of Germany’s 16 federal states. But some states are already taking action on their own.

The head of Berlin’s city-state government, Michael Mueller, emphasized the need for a national strategy, in an interview with German broadcaster ARD, while predicting that common ground would be found.

“I can well imagine that there will be restrictions,” the Social Democrat Mueller said. “There is no reason to buy a jumper on the 28th of December, you can do that before then … But something like this should or must take place nationwide.”

The state government of Thuringia has already said it would be in favor of adding new restrictions while rejecting the possibility of relaxing measures over Christmas and New Year’s Eve holidays.

In Hamburg, authorities have now imposed a ban on mulled wine, the popular beverage that is a staple at Christmas markets, which are closed this year.

The sale of mulled wine to-go has been a controversial topic in cities like Cologne, where authorities say it is generating large crowds and unauthorized gatherings.

Saxony the latest hotspot

Saxony became the first state on Tuesday to announce the hardest measures so far. In-person schools, daycare centers, and select stores are set to close as of December 14.

The state government said the harder measures were necessary because the influx of COVID-19 patients had left Saxony’s hospitals “extremely burdened.”

The eastern state has become the country’s hotspot for coronavirus infections, with the number of newly confirmed cases per 100,000 inhabitants reaching almost 320 in a week.

UNICEF Germany told DW on Tuesday that wherever possible, schools should remain open.

jcg,aw/msh (Reuters, dpa, KNA, AFP)

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-calls-grow-for-harder-lockdown-ahead-of-christmas-holidays/a-55871593

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“There is reason to be optimistic that there will be approval for a vaccine in Europe this year,” Spahn said in an interview with publishing group RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland. “And then we can start right away.”

Spahn said that he had asked Germany’s federal states to have their vaccination centers ready by mid-December and that this was going well. “I would rather have a vaccination centre ready a few days early than an approved vaccine that isn’t being used immediately.”

Germany has secured more than 300 million vaccine doses via the European Commission, bilateral contracts and options, Spahn said, adding that this was more than enough and even left room to share with other countries.

Source: https://en.mercopress.com/2020/11/23/germany-ready-to-begin-covid-19-vaccination-in-mid-december

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The next leader of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) will be decided in mid-January, the party announced on Saturday.

The three candidates — Friedrich Merz, Armin Laschet and Norbert Röttgen — agreed to the date for the party congress, CDU general secretary Paul Ziemiak announced on Twitter. It was originally scheduled for December 4 but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“Unity in the CDU is important for Germany, particularly in such difficult times,” Ziemiak said. He said the candidates hoped to be able to hold the meeting in person, but that it may take place digitally.

More details will be decided on December 14.

Friedrich Merz: Longstanding Merkel critic

The ex-leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag withdrew from frontline politics in 2009. He made a comeback in 2018 when he joined the CDU leadership race, losing narrowly to AKK. Merz recently quit his post as chairman at BlackRock, the world’s largest investment management firm, to “help the conservative party renew itself.” He appeals to the CDU’s conservative members.

Jens Spahn: Young contender backs Laschet

The 40-year-old surprised political onlookers on February 25, when he stood beside Laschet to support the state premier’s candidacy announcement. Spahn, who is openly gay, is popular in the CDU’s conservative wing. “It is about the future of the country and the future of our party,” Spahn said on his decision to back Laschet.

Armin Laschet: Affable state premier

Laschet, a journalist and former European Parliament member, has headed Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2017. The liberal-conservative is a Merkel supporter — and backed her in the 2015 refugee crisis. Another “Pizza Connection” member, he is known for being able to work with both the FDP and Greens, which may be the most likely coalition setup in the next government.

Norbert Röttgen: Potential Greens ally

Röttgen served as environment minister under Merkel from 2009-2012. He now heads the Bundestag’s foreign affairs committee. He designed Germany’s energy transition plan and is seen as someone who could work with the Greens, the party polling second. He was also part of the “Pizza Connection,” a group of CDU and Greens MPs that held meetings in the ’90s and early 2000s.

Author: Rina Goldenberg

2021 elections without Merkel

Merkel led the party from 2000 to 2018, and has led the country as chancellor since 2005. She has announced her intention not to seek a fifth term as chancellor.

Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer took over party leadership in 2018 and had been presented as Merkel’s successor as chancellor candidate. However, she bowed out in February after failing to secure public confidence, leading to the new round of leadership selection.

The next party leader would have a strong chance of being picked to run for chancellor, although that is not automatic.

Germany must hold its next federal election by October 24, 2021.

Popularity boost amid pandemic

The CDU is polling well after its relatively successful handling of the pandemic. However, infection rates are soaring and voters are bracing for a second partial lockdown and a difficult winter.

Former businessman and conservative Merz, 64, is polling better than both Laschet, 59 — who is premier of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and more liberal — and Röttgen, 55, a foreign policy expert. But the party elite favor Laschet.

The CDU is the largest party in the Bundestag and leads Germany in a coalition with its Bavarian sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), and the Social Democrats (SPD).

Merz has accused “parts of the party establishment” of acting to prevent him from becoming leader.  Politics Podcast: Merkel’s Last Dance

The open accusations are unusual for the traditionally disciplined party, prompting current chairwoman Kramp-Karrenbauer to urge the candidates not to engage in “discussions that damage the CDU as a whole,” in comments to Der Spiegel news magazine.

After Saturday’s announcement, Merz said on Twitter that he “very much” welcomed the agreement: “It is a good compromise that we have agreed on today.

Laschet also declared on Twitter that the CDU needs “clarity for the next year.”

“Our joint proposal serves this purpose,” he added.

Röttgen too said he was very pleased “that we have come to a good solution for the federal party congress together.”

Olaf Scholz

Plumbing new depths with each election, the SPD decided to run a realist rather than a radical as their top candidate in 2021. Finance Minister Olaf Scholz, a former mayor of Hamburg, is seen as dry and technocratic. Many in his party say the 62-year-old is unlikely to energize party activists and win their hearts.

Markus Söder

Bavaria’s 53-year-old state premier from the CDU’s more conservative Bavarian sister party, the CSU, has profited in opinion polls from his tough line in the fight against the coronavirus. “Bavaria is strong. Bavaria will grow. Bavaria is solid. Bavaria is safe. Here the world is still in order, and it will stay that way,” the former journalist said at the beginning of his tenure in 2018.

Armin Laschet

Armin Laschet, a staunch supporter of Angela Merkel, heads Germany’s most populous state. Staunch conservatives routinely underestimated the jovial 58-year-old, famous for his belief in integration and compromise. But recently, his liberal non-interventionist instincts have led to him eating his words more than once during the coronavirus crisis.

Jens Spahn

Health Minister Jens Spahn, the Christian Democrats’ rising star, has benefitted from the publicity he gained during the coronavirus pandemic. Openly gay, married, still only 40, with unusually strong English skills, Spahn is a more modern Catholic CDU politician than one could have imagined even a few years ago.

Robert Habeck

50-year-old Robert Habeck, an enthused and passionate speaker, can match the tone and energy of the climate movement in a way many German politicians cannot. But like so many with the gift of the gab, his speeches tend to meander off-topic. Habeck has a Ph.D. in philosophy and was a novelist and children’s author before entering politics almost 20 years ago.

Annalena Baerbock

At not yet 40, Annalena Baerbock has been a Green Party co-chair since 2018. A jurist with a degree in public international law from the London School of Economics, her supporters see her as a safe pair of hands with a better grasp of detail than Habeck. Her opponents point to her lack of governing or ministerial experience and her occasional gaffes in interviews.

Author: Mark Hallam, Rina Goldenberg

aw/nm (dpa, AFP, Reuters, AP)

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/germany-angela-merkels-party-to-decide-her-successor-in-january/a-55461472 

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Health Minister Jens Spahn has said a “gradual” return to normal life is possible in Germany after April 19th if people continue to stick to social distancing measures.

In an interview with Handelsblatt, Spahn said there was a “positive trend” regarding Germany’s coronavirus figures but said it was too early to give the all-clear and that’s why Germany could not follow in Austria’s lead and discuss lifting lockdown measures sooner.

“We are seeing a positive trend,” Spahn said. “But it must continue. That is why it is important to remain consistent over Easter. Even if it is difficult in this weather, we should stay at home and avoid family visits so that the infection curve does not rise again.”

As of Thursday April 9th, there were more than 113,200 confirmed coronavirus cases in Germany, with more than 2,300 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.

A total of around 46,900 people have recovered, according to these figures.

So what will happen if the curve continues to flatten, and the number of active cases slows?

“If it does, we will be able to talk to the state premiers (across Germany’s 16 states) about a gradual return to normality after the Easter holidays,” said Spahn “The word ‘gradually’ is important to me. It won’t work, if everything returns to normal from one day to the next.”

‘A long time before things return to normal’

The government has so far played down talk of relaxing strict coronavirus rules.

Chancellor Angela Merkel has repeatedly urged people in Germany to be patient and to stick to social distancing measures, which include a ban on gatherings of more than two people and the closure of schools and non-essential shops.

Merkel said on Monday that restrictions on free movement and business closures, in effect in Germany since March 22nd, would remain in place until at least April 19th and that it was too early to talk about easing the lockdown.

READ ALSO: Germany debates post-lockdown plan as Merkel calls coronavirus ‘biggest test in EU history’

But an internal government paper showed what Germany’s path out of the current shutdown could look like. It included talk of infection contact tracing, compulsory mask-wearing, and continued social distancing measures.

Spahn said: “In the near future, the main task will be to quickly identify and isolate those infected by means of broad testing. And then to track down and isolate their contacts. This is the only way we can break chains of infection.”

He said a “corona app” developed for smartphones would allow people in Germany to update their situation to health authorities. Spahn said the use of the app would be voluntary but he was counting on the public to do their bit.

“The message is that the way out of the restrictions of everyday life is easier if as many citizens as possible participate in the app,” he said.

READ ALSO: When and how will Germany’s lockdown measures end?

Photo: DPA

No parties

When asked how long the pandemic would continue in Germany, Spahn said it’s more likely to be months rather than weeks.

“At the most, until we have a vaccine,” he said. “But it’s also up to us. If we look at where a lot of people have been infected, it’s been parties, concerts or football matches. In other words, occasions where people were very close to each other over a long period of time.

“We can all make a very big difference by following simple rules – keep your distance, wash your hands, the handshake is almost non-existent – and this significantly reduces the risk of dynamic spread of the virus.

“In other words: with the appropriate caution, more normality can soon be possible again. But unfortunately, we will probably have to go without parties of all kinds for a longer time.”

READ ALSO: What’s the latest on coronavirus in Germany and what do I need to know?

What will happen to work and business in Germany?

Spahn said in the short term “severe cuts and a decline in growth” was to be expected on business and the economy.

He said after lockdown, businesses would be required to put measures in place to ensure safety of employees and customers.

“Companies or industries that can demonstrate that they can ensure hygiene rules would be able to return to work more easily,” Spahn said.

But there’s a long road ahead.

“We want to take this path in dialogue with all sectors of the economy,” Spahn said. “One thing is certain: wherever people get close to each other in private – be that at major events such as football matches or in clubs – it will be a long time before things return to normal there.”

READ ALSO: State by state: How much do you have to pay for flouting Germany’s coronavirus rules?

Why is the coronavirus situation not as bad in Germany?

In the interview, Spahn was asked why Germany has not faced the coronavirus hardships like other European countries including Italy.

He said it’s because Germany “tested a great deal and identified the first cases early on”.

“This enabled us to prevent the virus from spreading quickly,” he added. “That bought us time. We used that time to get protective gear and prepare our hospitals.

“We currently have 10,000 free intensive care beds. No other country in the world has that. This is a collective effort and is also due to the good work of the doctors in the practices. In some countries, the spread of the virus was not detected until patients were admitted to hospitals.”

On Thursday, the government’s ‘corona crisis’ cabinet was set to hold another meeting.

Ministers are set to discuss the procurement of protective material, as well as a possible increase in shorter hours (Kurzarbeit) compensation for employees who have had their hours cut because of the crisis.

In the afternoon, Spahn, Family Minister Franziska Giffey (SPD) and the head of the Robert Koch Institute, Lothar Wieler, were set to provide another update on the current situation in Germany.

Source: https://www.thelocal.de/20200409/germany-could-see-gradual-return-to-normality-after-easter-holidays-coronavirus

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In Germany, the number of Coronavirus cases has not been rising this rapidly since the crisis began. On Wednesday night, there were 12,327 infected persons, 3,000 more than a day before.

The increase of Coronavirus cases in Germany was alarming on Wednesday when the number of infected persons suddenly jumped to over 12,000. Twenty-four hours before, it had been at around 9,000. This means the number rose substantially in one day, in spite of all the measures the federal government in Berlin and the federal states have taken so far. At 13:25 hrs. CET, the total number was 13,000.

Mixed Picture in Berlin

On Wednesday evening, Chancellor Angela Merkel asked the nation to follow the rules and to keep their distance in a partially emotional address to the nation. She said it was up to “us”, meaning the Germans, how the country would get through the crisis. (See separate article Merkel on Corona Crisis: ‘Adhere to the Rules’.)

Angela Merkel gave a partially emotional speech on Wednesday.

Berlin, the German capital which is also a city-state, was a mixed picture after the latest measures kicked in on Wednesday. Since most shops are now closed and because many employees of thousands of companies work from home, the two city centers Berlin has were virtually empty in the morning. Only a few Berliners used the city’s public transport at that point.

Berlin Parks Populated

On the other hand, hundreds populated Berlin’s parks and did not seem to care about keeping their distance at all. At Hasenheide, a large park in Berlin’s Kreuzberg district, young people sat together with guitars and other instruments. They played the same improvised ‘song’ over and over for an hour. There was no distance between them, meaning the danger of infection was high.

At Hasenheide Park, people gathered in groups on Wednesday afternoon. Photo: Imanuel Marcus

The same applied to countless other groups of people who embraced, held hands, talked face to face and did not follow any of the rules virologists and politicians had asked everyone to adhere to. The behavior by some Berliners in Görlitzer Park and similar places almost seemed to be a statement against those who were trying to save them and the rest of the nation from the dangerous diseases the Coronavirus can cause.

Other federal states, including Bavaria, had similar issues. On Thursday morning, Bavaria’s First Minister Markus Söder said in Munich if people’s behavior was not going to change voluntarily, a state-wide curfew needed to be declared.

Aldi Staffer has ‘Bronchitis’

At an ‘Aldi’ supermarket in Berlin, a very kind staffer kept on filling shelves this morning. While engaging in small talk with customers, he said he had some kind of “bronchitis” and was sucking on fresh garlic toes because of that condition. The man who meets thousands of people per day at his work place has “bronchitis” during these warm spring days? That is where things might get dangerous.

Berlin’s city center was empty on Wednesday morning. Photo: Imanuel Marcus

The Federal Republic of Germany is fighting the Coronavirus, along with the rest of the world. Health Minister Jens Spahn managed to purchase 10 million protective masks which many hospitals in the country have run out of. Spahn announced they would be distributed now.

First Curfew in Germany

In spite of the virus, secondary school students in the province of Hesse will be writing their Abitur (U.S.: high school diploma, Britain: A-levels) exams today. The health authorities insisted the students should keep a safe distance while doing so and the exam groups needed to be as small as possible. Whether those measures will help is a question nobody could really answer.

In some German regions, where the number of infected persons rises a lot faster than the already high nationwide average, those in charge are beginning to take the next step. In the town of Mitterteich, the authorities imposed a curfew, the first one in Germany. Other counties and towns where the number of Coronavirus cases has tripled within a short time frame, might follow soon.

ILA Air Show Cancelled

But Health Minister Jens Spahn said the German authorities should not engage in an “outdoing contest” regarding restrictions in everyday life. He favored a moderate approach, Spahn stated in a television interview. According to him, Germany is not planning to impose curfews on its residents, at least for now.

On Thursday afternoon, Germany’s Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said in Berlin, the Bundeswehr, Germany’s armed forces, were in the process of calling in reserves in order to be able to help in the Coronavirus crisis. She stated her ministry had already received 50 applications for administrative assistance from all parts of Germany. For instance, the military will be involved in setting up a hospital exclusively for Coronavirus patients at Berlin’s fairground.

In the meantime, the ILA Air Show, a trade fair for the aerospace and defense industries, was canceled. It was supposed to take place in Berlin in May.

Source: https://berlinspectator.com/2020/03/19/coronavirus-in-germany-number-of-infected-rises-by-25-percent-in-one-day-1/

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel, right, with Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer during a meeting in Berlin earlier this month.John MacDougall / AFP – Getty Images

DUSSELDORF, Germany — Widely regarded as the world’s most powerful woman for more than a decade, Angela Merkel is seeing her time on the world stage draw to a close.

But the front-runner to replace her as the leader of Germany’s biggest political party laughed when confronted with the suggestion that she is little more than a Merkel clone.

“I think people see me as authentic, just like I am, with my ideas, my style of doing politics,” Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer told NBC News after a campaign rally. “There are similarities with Angela Merkel, there are issues that separate us, and I’m showing that genuinely and authentically and won’t create an artificial separation because it has something to do with character and attitude.”

Merkel has led the center-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU) since 2000 and been Germany’s chancellor since 2005.

She announced last month that she would not seek re-election as chair of the CDU at the party’s conference this Friday and would also not run for chancellor at the next scheduled election in 2021. “I wasn’t born a chancellor,” she said at the time, “and I never forgot this.”

Around 4,000 party members gathered in Düsseldorf last week to listen to the candidates make the case for why they should follow in Merkel’s footsteps. Kramp-Karrenbauer is the most closely aligned with Merkel’s moderate policies.

“I’ve never known a CDU without Merkel,” said Dominic Hoge, 22, who traveled two-and-a-half hours by train to the regional conference. “I want to know where the candidates stand on the issues.”

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is seen as “much tougher and more conservative than Merkel” on immigration.Fabrizio Bensch / Reuters

Renate Rüttler, 72, who has been a party member for over four decades, said it was time for change.

“Mrs. Merkel has been here for a long time,” she said. “I want to see a different face.”

Rüttler said she had not made up her mind yet on who the best candidate was, but said she was ready to support Kramp-Karrenbauer if she can prove she is not “mini-Merkel,” as she has been branded by some media outlets.

“I would like for her to leave the Merkel lane,” she said. “I think she can do it. Everybody has to grow.”

Merkel’s open-door policy for refugees cemented her reputation as the strongest defender of liberal values on the world stage, even as she led a conservative party at home. About 1 million migrants arrived in Germany during 2015, and critics say that has spurred the rising tide of populism across Europe.

In recent years, the CDU has lost voters to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), creating a challenge for its next leader.

Friedrich Merz and Jens Spahn, who are also running against Kramp-Karrenbauer, have promised a more conservative route forward.

Kramp-Karrenbauer, 56, was appointed as secretary general of the CDU in February. The move was widely seen as a sign that she is Merkel’s favored successor.

“Even though Chancellor Merkel never openly endorsed Kramp-Karrenbauer, it is well known that the two women have a very good and trustful relationship,” said Stefan Marschall, a political scientist at the Heinrich-Heine University in Düsseldorf.

But he added that Kramp-Karrenbauer is also “trying to distance herself from Angela Merkel.”

Kristina Dunz, a journalist who recently published a biography of Kramp-Karrenbauer, said that she is “clearly not a mini-Merkel” despite often being described as such.

But like Merkel she is known to be highly analytical in times of crisis, “rather unemotional” and very much “down to earth,” Dunz said.

On migration issues, the mother of three is perceived to be “much tougher and more conservative than Merkel,” according to Dunz.

She cited Kramp-Karrenbauer’s time as governor of the small German state of Saarland when she “made it clear that refugees should adopt to German values,” Dunz added.

Kramp-Karrenbauer told reporters at a recent press conference in Berlin that migration “is not issue No. 1, but it’s there as an issue, and there’s no point not talking about it.”

A poll of CDU supporters conducted by NBC News’ German partner ZDF found that nearly one-third of respondents described Kramp-Karrenbauer as “credible” and “personable.” Merz received only 15 percent in the same categories.

When asked “who would be more likely to represent the interests of ordinary citizens,” 33 percent of those polled named Kramp-Karrenbauer, with Merz at 9 percent and Spahn under 5 percent.

However, the poll suggested Merz — a corporate lawyer, finance expert and former member of Germany’s Parliament — was viewed as a more competent candidate (28 percent) than Kramp-Karrenbauer (16 percent).

At 38, Spahn is the youngest candidate, having been elected to Parliament at just 22. He currently serves as the health minister in Merkel‘s government, but has been a strong critic of her centrist views, especially on immigration.

Some party members at last week’s event in Düsseldorf, however, said Spahn got a little ahead of himself in presenting his vision for Germany in 2040.

No matter who is elected Merkel’s successor, her eventual departure will leave a void on both national and international levels.

But all three of the main candidates have vowed to strengthen Germany’s commitments to organizations such as NATO and the European Union.

“We have to acknowledge and discuss with citizens that Germany needs to take on more responsibility,” Kramp-Karrenbauer told NBC News. “One of the questions is, ‘Can we keep a functioning international order?'”

Source: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/annegret-kramp-karrenbauer-wants-be-chancellor-no-mini-merkel-n941546

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Populists seize chance to put favorite issue on agenda ahead of EU vote, causing ructions among governments.

A previously obscure 34-page, jargon-filled document is causing political convulsions across Europe — even though it’s not even legally binding.

Italy this week became the latest in a string of European countries to say it would not sign the U.N.’s Global Compact on Migration at a ceremony in Marrakech in just under two weeks. From the Netherlands through Belgium and Germany to Slovakia, the pact has triggered infighting in ruling parties and governments, with at least one administration close to breaking point.

The fight over the pact illuminates how migration remains a combustible issue across the Continent, three years after the 2015 refugee crisis and with next May’s European Parliament election on the horizon. Far-right parties keen to make migration the key campaign issue have seized on the pact while some mainstream parties have sought to steal their thunder by turning against the agreement. Liberals and centrists, meanwhile, have found themselves on the defensive — arguing that the agreement poses no harm and migration is best handled through international cooperation.

Louise Arbour, the senior U.N. official overseeing the pact, said she is surprised by the controversy, as diplomats from 180 countries — including many that have now pulled out — signed off on the text last summer after two years of negotiations.

The initiative was launched at the request of Europe after the migration surge of 2015, Arbour said. The countries now having “second thoughts or misgivings” were very active during the negotiations and “extracted compromises from the others,” she told POLITICO in an interview.

Arbour, a former Canadian judge and U.N. human rights commissioner, said the recent backtracking illustrates a clear “disconnect” between some countries’ foreign policies “and domestic pressures or national concerns that were not included into the process.”

She stressed the compact is not binding and, after its formal adoption next month, “there is not a single member state that is obligated to do anything that it doesn’t want to.”

The Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, to give it its full name, sets out a “cooperative framework” for dealing with international migration. Signatories agree, for example, to limit the pressure on countries with many migrants and to promote the self-reliance of newcomers. The document states that no country can address migration alone, while also upholding “the sovereignty of States and their obligations under international law.”

That assurance has not been enough to placate many in Europe. Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orbán has made anti-migrant policies his signature issue, pulled out while the pact was being negotiated. But the recent wave of European withdrawals was triggered by conservative Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who renounced the pact at the end of October.

German Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (left), Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz (center) and his coalition partner Heinz-Christian Strache (right) meet in Vienna to discuss immigration, July 2018 | Michael Gruber/Getty Images

Heinz-Christian Strache, the leader of the far-right Freedom Party, Kurz’s coalition partner, declared that “Austria must remain sovereign on migration” and said the country is “playing a leading role in Europe.” At least in terms of the pact, that turned out to be true with Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Estonia, Croatia and Switzerland all following Vienna’s lead.

Bratislava, Berlin and beyond

Slovakia is among the most recent countries to withdraw its support for the pact. After an EU summit on Sunday, Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said Bratislava would not support the pact “under any circumstances and will not agree with it.”

Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajčák on Thursday said he would resign after parliament decided to reject the pact. Lajčák was president of the U.N. General Assembly when the migration pact was adopted.

Populist parties in other countries have forced the pact to the top of the political agenda. The Dutch government under Prime Minister Mark Rutte has come under pressure from far-right leaders, including Geert Wilders and Thierry Baudet, who refers to the agreement as the “U.N. Immigration Pact.” The government ordered a legal analysis of the text last week to ensure that signing it will not entail any legal consequences. The Cabinet finally decided on Thursday that it would support the pact, but would add an extra declaration, a so-called explanation of position, to prevent unintended legal consequences.

In Germany, the pact has become an issue in the battle to succeed Angela Merkel — the EU politician most associated with a more liberal approach to migration — as leader of the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU). Two of the leading contenders for the post, Jens Spahn and Friedrich Merz, have both criticized the agreement and called for it to be amended.

The German chancellor mounted a spirited defense of the pact, telling the Bundestag last week that the agreement is in Germany’s national interest as it will encourage better conditions for refugees and migrants elsewhere in the world.

Arbour argued that although the pact is not legally binding, it is still worthwhile. “The pact is a major cooperation project … a political initiative to align initiatives for the common benefit,” she said.

But such arguments cut little ice with the WerteUnion (“Union of Values”), a group of thousands of conservative members of the CDU and its Bavarian sister party. It takes issue with multiple sections of the pact, such as a declaration that migrants “regardless of their status, can exercise their human rights through safe access to basic services.” The group argues that as German social benefits are high, such a commitment would encourage migrants to come to Germany.

Michel has been consulting with a handful of European countries to produce a joint statement to be attached to the pact | Leon Neal/Getty Images

In Belgium, the pact has put liberal Prime Minister Charles Michel’s coalition government at risk. The Flemish nationalist N-VA, the biggest party in government, has demanded Belgium withdraw from the agreement. Michel is caught between his commitment to the pact and his coalition partner’s rejection of it — while seeking to fend off a Francophone opposition that will take any opportunity to portray him as a puppet of the Flemish nationalists ahead of federal, regional and European elections next May.

Searching for a way to keep his government afloat, Michel has been consulting with a handful of European countries including Denmark, Estonia, the U.K. and Norway, to produce a joint statement to be attached to the pact, according to Belgian media. Another idea is for several of those countries to join the Netherlands in signing a common “explanation of position,” Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant reported.

Arbour said it’s too late to start making changes to the pact itself. Renegotiating the text or attaching an extra statement is “not what other [countries] have signed up to,” she said.

Source: https://www.politico.eu/article/migration-un-viktor-orban-sebastian-kurz-far-right-pressure-europe-retreats-from-pact/

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For many observers in Brussels, the twilight of Angela Merkel’s chancellorship in Berlin, which has now begun with her decision not to run again for CDU leader, comes as no surprise. After the failed EU refugee summit, political news portal Politico wrote off Angela Merkel as early as this summer. The chancellor’s assertiveness had suffered badly because of the internal quarrels in her grand coalition of CDU, CSU and SPD. “How Merkel divides the EU,” Politico wrote back then.

That was even before the state elections in Bavaria and Hesse and their severe losses for the grand coalition. But even then, it was clear that Merkel’s 2015 refugee policy course had facilitated the rise of populists in many EU countries. She was unable to enforce the solidarity she demanded on migration policies, nor a binding distribution of refugees. Only recently has she advocated closing off the EU’s external borders while setting up asylum centers in North Africa.

Read more: Opinion: Finally Angela Merkel shows leadership

Some ‘will be pleased’

Long before Italy’s current populist government was at odds with the chancellor, there were protests against her EU policies

Many in Poland, Hungary and Italy will hardly shed a tear for Merkel once she gives up the chancellorship. Many politicians in states bogged down by financial crises consider Merkel’s role in overcoming the financial and euro crisis in Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Spain, Ireland and now Italy to be wrong, calling it too rigid, too austerity-oriented.

“Of course, Europe without Angela Merkel is possible,” says Janis Emmanouilidis, head of the European Policy Center think tank. “If you have a leading role like Germany and its chancellor do, then of course there will be countries and governments who are less satisfied with what Germany does,” he told DW. As such, he explained, there will be people in Eastern and Southern Europe who will be pleased when the chancellor is gone.

Merkel underestimated the refugee issue, Matteo Salvini, Italy’s radical right-wing interior minister, told DW in an interview in September. With an eye on Sunday’s election defeat in Hesse, Salvini said the result was a “blow with a hammer” for Merkel.

Embittered after austerity gripped the country, Greek protesters didn’t pull punches on their feelings toward Merkel

Merkel’s stability ‘a great asset’

Most EU states value her, according to Emmanouilidis — not least because she is the longest-serving head of government in the bloc, and simply has the most experience in Europe. People appreciated stability in Berlin, he argues. “In times of uncertainty, stability is a great asset.”

Many politicians at the EU’s headquarters in Brussels will have to get used to the fact that “Mutti” (mommy), as Merkel is fondly called by many in her party and the coalition government, might be leaving in the foreseeable future, says Emmanouilidis. She’s been in power for 13 years, so it is difficult to imagine politics without her, but her succession will be arranged, he adds. “There will be the first day after Merkel, a time after Merkel.”

Policy expert Emmanouilidis: It’s hard to imagine Europe without Merkel, but an orderly transition will be arranged

Decisions shelved

For months now, decisions on migration, Brexit or reform of the eurozone at the EU level have been postponed — due partly to the hesitant German chancellor who was too busy with the coalition at home to make time for the EU’s urgent crises. By announcing that she will give up the party chair and not run again for chancellor in 2021, some observers see her as a lame duck.

Longtime German finance minister and current Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble, however, disputed that characterization in a DW interview, saying that “her position is constitutionally strong” and that she’s likely to stay put as chancellor for years to come.

Germany, the largest and financially strongest member state, will of course continue to shape the EU regardless. EU diplomats do not expect progress on negotiations on the EU’s common budget before the European elections in May 2019. Günther Oettinger, whom Merkel sent to Brussels as EU commissioner, is responsible for the budget.

It also remains unclear what Merkel’s retreat in installments means for Manfred Weber, a member of the CSU who hopes to be nominated as the top candidate of the European People’s Party next week, with an eye on the post of president of the EU Commission. Germany’s head of government actually has a deciding voice in the matter.

Macron and his ‘good friend’: With her departure on the horizon, the French president may seize the chance to stake out a position as ‘the new Merkel’

Macron needs a new partner

French President Emmanuel Macron is unlikely to be particularly pleased by Merkel’s possible departure from the European stage. With the help of his “good friend Angela” he planned to advance his reform agenda for the monetary union. There is bound to be a period of uncertainty, says EU expert Emmanouilidis — not what Macron was hoping for.

On the other hand, he adds, the chancellor and the government have not responded to Macron’s proposals anyway. “The question is how this will develop after Merkel’s departure,” says the think tank researcher. It could also be an opportunity for Emmanuel Macron if Merkel leaves the driver’s seat.

The chancellor today also put an end to any speculation in Brussels that she might be aiming for a position in the European Union’s top management. Observers argued she could move to Brussels next year, either as president of the EU Commission or as president of the European Council. Both posts are up for grabs again in about a year.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, CDU

Kramp-Karrenbauer, also known as AKK, was Merkel’s choice to become general secretary of the CDU in 2018. She is reputedly Merkel’s pick as a successor as party leader. AKK headed a CDU-SPD coalition as state premier in the small southwestern state of Saarland before becoming the CDU’s general secretary. She is considered a moderate who would continue Merkel’s centrist policies.

Jens Spahn, CDU

The 38-year-old is the youngest and most overtly determined Merkel usurper. He entered the Bundestag in 2002 and became Germany’s health minister in 2018. Spahn, who is openly gay, is popular in the CDU’s conservative wing. He opposes limited dual citizenship for young foreigners, criticized attempts to loosen laws on advertising abortions and called for banning the Burqa in public.

Friedrich Merz, CDU

The former leader of the CDU/CSU grouping in the Bundestag has been out of frontline politics since leaving the Bundestag in 2009. But the 62-year-old announced his intention to replace Merkel within hours of the news that she would be stepping down. Merz reportedly fell out with Merkel after she replaced him as CDU/CSU group leader in 2002. He has been a chairman at Blackrock since 2016.

Armin Laschet, CDU

Laschet became state premier of North Rhine-Westphalia in 2017. His win marked a major defeat for Social Democrats in Germany’s 18 million-strong “coal” state. The Catholic and former journalist, 57, has been branded by his critics as “too nice for politics.” He is also one of the five deputies in the national CDU executive.

Julia Klöckner, CDU

Klöckner became agriculture minister in 2018 and has been CDU chief in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate since 2011. In 1995, before entering politics, she became Germany’s “Wine Queen.” Like Spahn, she belongs to the CDU’s conservative wing. She raised eyebrows in 2016 when she proposed an alternative plan to Merkel’s refugee policy.

Peter Altmaier, CDU

Altmeier, known as “Merkel’s bodyguard,” has supported the chancellor’s centrist policy platform on multiple fronts. Originally from Saarland, Altmaier first worked for the European Union before entering the Bundestag in 1994. The former environment minister turned economy minister is renowned for his kitchen diplomacy and being a stickler for policy detail.

Ursula von der Leyen, CDU

Von der Leyen became defense minister in 2013 after serving a stint as labor minister. Despite her reform efforts, defense spending remains stubbornly low and the military continues to suffer from widespread equipment shortages. Von der Leyen, who studied in the United States and Britain, supports a larger role for Germany abroad and improving links between national armies in the European Union.

Volker Bouffier, CDU

Volker Bouffier has been the premier of the central state of Hesse since 2010. He formerly served as the state’s interior minister and has twice “won” Big Brother awards from German data privacy advocates for propagating closer surveillance methods by police. The 66-year-old currently heads a CDU-Greens state government in Hesse and is a deputy chairperson in the national CDU executive.

Wolfgang Schäuble, CDU

Schäuble is one of the CDU’s most experienced politicians. He is well-known throughout Europe for his time as finance minister from 2009 to 2017, when he took a hard line against the Greek government. But Schäuble’s decision to give up a senior ministerial role to become president of the German parliament suggests the 75-year-old has already entered the twilight of his political career.

Markus Söder, CSU

Söder is Bavaria’s state premier and a member of the CDU’s sister party, the CSU. He is therefore ineligible to replace Merkel as CDU head. But Söder, who became premier earlier this year, could become chancellor if the CDU and CSU together nominate him as their combined candidate for the 2021 election. He has been a vocal critic of Merkel’s refugee policy and Greece’s membership of the euro.

Author: Ian P. Johnson, Alexander Pearson

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/europe-without-angela-merkel-is-possible/a-46081728

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