VIRUS / ROUNDUP: Steinmeier warns to be patient / Germans satisfied with crisis management | message

BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged citizens to be patient, disciplined and solidarity in the Corona crisis at Easter. In a television speech on Saturday, the head of state expressed optimism: “We can and we will grow in this situation too.” Steinmeier said it was “good that the state is now acting vigorously – in a crisis for which there was no script.” At the same time, he appealed to the people of Germany: “I continue to ask all of you for your trust, because the government in the federal and state governments are aware of their enormous responsibility.” It was the first time that a Federal President has responded to a current event in this form. He usually only delivers such speeches every Christmas.

According to a survey, the majority of Germans are satisfied with the federal government’s crisis management. In a survey by the opinion research institute YouGov on behalf of the German Press Agency, 66 percent rated the operation of the black and red cabinet headed by the Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) rather positive in the crisis. Two weeks ago it was 54 percent. The proportion of dissatisfied fell from 38 to 27 percent during this period.

The federal and state governments have taken drastic measures to curb the spread of the virus. On April 15, advice will be given on how to proceed. At a further Merkel switching conference with the prime ministers on April 19, a decision will likely be made as to whether parts of the restrictions can be lifted or changed.

Steinmeier appealed to the people of Germany to preserve the experience of solidarity in the crisis afterwards. “The solidarity that you demonstrate every day, we will need it all the more in the future.” After the crisis, there will be another society. “We don’t want to become an anxious, not a suspicious society. We can be a society with more trust, with more consideration and more confidence.” The Federal President urged solidarity within Europe. “30 years after German unity, 75 years after the end of the war, we Germans are not only called to solidarity in Europe – we are obliged to do so,” he said.

Union faction leader Ralph Brinkhaus praised Merkel’s acting in the corona pandemic. “Chancellors in snowy weather can do many. You need people who can survive the crisis,” the CDU politician told the newspapers of the Funke media group. Merkel radiates security and calm. And according to Corona, every candidate for chancellor – regardless of which party – would have to be measured.

According to data from the Robert Koch Institute on Saturday morning, 117 658 infections have now been recorded in Germany, 2544 deaths in people with Covid-19 have been recorded. According to expert estimates, the number of unreported cases is also much higher in Germany.

Calls for loosening had been heard from business in particular. The understanding of restrictions is also great there. “However, companies need a clear orientation as soon as possible on how they can adapt their business to the higher standards of health protection in the future – beyond the specific question of deadlines,” said Eric Schweitzer, President of the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Eric Schweitzer, the “Saarbrcker Zeitung” .

The President of the RWILeibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Christoph Schmidt, wrote in the “Rheinische Post”: “Now a phase of vigorous normalization should be started immediately.”

Economy Minister Peter Altmaier (CDU) warned of hasty steps. “We see a first silver lining, because the number of new infections is not increasing as much,” he told the “Augsburger Allgemeine”. This is thanks to the great discipline of the citizens. “But if we loosen or lift the restrictions too early, all of these victims may have been in vain.”

In the opinion of the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Sder (CSU), the German strategy for the way out of the corona restrictions does not necessarily have to be uniform. The situation is actually regionally different, said the CSU chief of the German press agency in Munich. “In this respect, the common concept in Germany must do justice to the different situations.”

Federal Education Minister Anja Karliczek (CDU) called on the countries to join forces to reopen the schools. “The state should act as coordinated as possible in this crisis,” she told the dpa. The countries should develop uniform criteria for a return to normal school operations. They share the opinion of NRW Prime Minister Armin Laschet (CDU). He had called for a consensus among all 16 federal states on the timetable for the reopening of schools and daycare centers. Central requirements for the schools are possible because education is a country responsibility./bk/DP/nas