For many, pandemic policy is a turning point – a tipping point of trust in the state, media, science, and society. AfD and BSW are using this fundamental alienation in their election campaigns. The federal government must now make coming to terms with the Corona period a priority.
Only half a year ago, political expressions of will were piling up. The traffic light politicians asserted that the corona pandemic must be dealt with transparently and that conclusions must be drawn for the future. “The impression must not be created that something is being hidden,” said Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) in March.
Six months later, hardly anything has happened. The factions cannot agree on a format for dealing with the past; the FDP wants an inquiry commission, the SPD prefers citizens’ councils, and only a few seem to be bothered by the fact that no progress is being made. There is evidently hope that the chapter is over. That people have forgotten about the coronavirus and the pandemic, also in view of other problems in the country.
But Corona, as was particularly clear this summer, has not been forgotten. Quite the opposite: In the election campaigns in Saxony and Thuringia, the pandemic was so omnipresent that it was as if the last lockdown had only been a few weeks ago. Sahra Wagenknecht addressed the issue in almost every public appearance, and her alliance dedicated a separate passage to dealing with Corona in their respective election manifestos. At events, the AfD spoke of a “huge crime” in relation to the pandemic and received thunderous applause.
The two parties have recognized that the Corona pandemic was not only a difficult time for many people, but a turning point. A tipping point of trust in the state, media, science, and society. A disappointment that is so deep-seated, especially in East Germany, that it can hardly be healed. And is now being used by populist forces for their own purposes.
On the one hand, the immense alienation is understandable; critics of the measures and vaccine sceptics have long been ostracized by society and the media. On the other hand, however, the anger is also fed by conspiracy ideologies that are still being spread massively on social media today.
So in the end, the question remains whether this country is still able to cope with crises. If the next pandemic, a military conflict or a large-scale cyber attack occurs, those in political positions of responsibility will find it difficult to hold society together. This is another reason why it is important that the federal government makes coming to terms with the past a political priority – before others do.
Political Editor Kaja Klapsa is responsible for reporting on the Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Foreign Office at WELT.
