The decision is emblematic of the state of this government coalition: The approach to the corona pandemic at the federal level, which almost everyone supports in some way, will not take place before the election – because the SPD, Greens and FDP could not agree on a format for this. What a farce! If there is a social need to come to terms with it, this must not fail because of a dispute about the right platform. And the need is undoubtedly there.
On the one hand, by rejecting what would at best be a clarifying and conciliatory process, the traffic light is running an economic stimulus program for the AfD, BSW and all those forces that are divisive in this country. On the other hand, it is a negligently wasted opportunity for all those who have conspiracy theories nothing can gain.
Dissatisfied people are a relevant part of this society
In Surveys In retrospect, a majority agrees with the pandemic policy, with the exception of individual measures – school closings and curfews. This is one of the reasons why many people see no need for reprocessing. But they of all people should have an interest in it.
Those who have actually suffered from the Corona measures or who cannot make peace with them for other reasons may be in the minority. Nevertheless, they are a relevant part of this society. While some of them withdraw in frustration, others become radicalized. They have lost trust in democratic institutions, including many media outlets. And there are political parties that continue to inflame exactly this mood because their concept is to convert distrust into vote shares.
Jens Spahn (CDU) was Health Minister during the pandemic.Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
Chaotic organization of authorities and wrong decisions
Strong democratic institutions must be in the interests of the overwhelming majority of this society. Institutions that are positioned to earn and maintain trust. This would identify an essential goal for the processing. Another: People should feel seen. There are also a large number of those who cannot comfortably adjust to the view today: The pandemic is over, everything was mostly okay. This includes talking about what not was okay. In order to be better prepared for a possible future pandemic than in 2020.
This starts with the chaotic organization of authorities and the political decisions, which did not follow any pandemic plan and sometimes lacked democratic safeguards. In the years before Corona, the Robert Koch Institute was denied the means to build a good infrastructure for continuous health monitoring – it could have provided data that we were sorely missing. The situation continues with schools, the majority of which are still unprepared to respond to an escalation of the pandemic as pragmatically as possible with a mixture of small groups with the best possible infection protection and distance learning.
You also have to think about the vulnerable minorities
A review would also have to focus on those for whom Corona is far from over. About those affected by Long Covid who fail because of our medical care system – and the system fails because of them. Not to mention the group of people affected by vaccinations, who often lack recognition, not to mention help. So what can we do to care for and best help those who have paid for the pandemic years with their health? How do we ensure that, despite all the enthusiasm about a return to normality, we do not simply accept further long-term consequences? Today people with Corona go to work, shake hands with a cold – coming to terms with it would also mean learning lessons and asking whether we couldn’t balance the very different interests in a society better than by continuing as before.
How do we help those who still rely on good infection protection today – people with cancer and autoimmune diseases or a damaged immune system? Because many are so relieved that the pandemic measures have been abolished, they and their relatives have it even harder today than before the pandemic: Wearing a mask alone on the bus or at school is now seen more as a political statement than as an understandable need for protection.
Christian Drosten: He advocates commissioning foreign scientists to work on the pandemic.Christoph Hardt/IMAGO
We owe the population education
How can we get a sufficiently large number of people to be vaccinated in a future pandemic – assuming it is safe? The goals of the corona vaccination campaign have already been missed, and confidence and willingness to receive a vaccination have hardly increased in recent years.
Of course, there are actors who are calling loudly for a reappraisal primarily because they want to be right about everything they have always said. Who want to specifically harm political competitors and state institutions by publicly displaying and demonstrating their alleged or actual failures. The only thing worse than this would be not to process it at all. Democratic institutions are strong when they open themselves to discussion and when they question themselves in order to learn from it in order to become better. If they don’t, they reinforce the narrative that there is something to hide. In addition, there are simply too many parts of the population to whom we owe education.
A smoldering fire can be particularly dangerous
There are enough ideas on the table for suitable formats. The virologist Christian Drosten has suggested entrusting this to scientists abroad who were not protagonists of the pandemic in Germany: a process without Drosten himself, without Hendrik Streeck and many others. The idea is worth pursuing. Citizens’ councils could be a good forum for social reconciliation.
Yes, it’s probably like this: Most people in Germany currently don’t see any flames that need to be fought urgently. But most people can certainly recognize that something is smoldering.
Firefighters know that a smoldering fire can be particularly dangerous. It doesn’t get as hot, but it robs people of the oxygen they need to breathe. If something is smoldering, the fire should be fought as quickly as possible – while there is still enough oxygen.
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