The use of the regulatory office in the Ehrenfeld Cinenova cinema was a mistake. There was no legal basis on which the operation could have been prohibited. After all, the department head admitted the mistake – albeit upon request – and apologized to those affected. And yes, the fact that movies that had already started weren’t stopped under the false assumption that they were right speaks in favor of a sense of proportion.
Actions like the one on Sunday afternoon not only hurt the cinema operators but also the regulatory office itself in the long run. The office has been massively understaffed for and probably for many years to come and is only kept running by one mountain of over time. The places in the city where it was actually necessary to ensure public order and where there was an urgent need for a few and sufficiently committed employees were and can hardly be counted. On the other hand, a cinema – and mind you, only this one in town – is forbidden to show shows that no one outside will notice. Even with a legal basis, after almost three years of the corona pandemic, that would look pretty petty.
Without this basis, however, implementation can certainly damage people’s trust in their regulators. Reservations about missions actually justified and serving the common good may be fueled by the fact that someone here did not know the laws. In times of tougher weather for all emergency services, the regulatory office is not doing itself any favors with such actions.
