Berlin (ots) –
The corona pandemic can rightly be described as an extreme crisis. And extreme crises require special actions. Politicians and administrators had to make a lot of decisions quickly. Mistakes happen, that’s understandable. But the way politicians handled taxpayers’ money is, from today’s perspective, outrageous. According to the Federal Audit Office, the Federal Ministry of Health alone spent more than 100 billion euros to combat the pandemic between 2020 and 2023. And much of it was thrown out the window.
According to the motto “more is better”, masks, vaccine doses, intensive care beds and even medication were ordered as if there were no tomorrow. In many areas, the auditors believe, the federal government spent more money than was necessary to protect the population. Regardless of whether it was a black-red or traffic light coalition, it managed the crisis poorly.
“We will have to forgive each other a lot,” the then Federal Minister of Health Jens Spahn (CDU) speculated in 2020 about the time after the pandemic. He even titled his book with this statement. He was right. And yet neither he nor his successor Karl Lauterbach nor his colleagues in the ministries should rest on their laurels. They must take responsibility and learn lessons for the future. Extreme crises require not only special action, but also foresight. And the strength to withstand harsh criticism of supposed inaction. Because the money that was squandered back then is now missing. A crisis could arise from this too.
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Original content from: BERLINER MORGENPOST, transmitted by news aktuell
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