Signal for Citizens' Assembly in Regarding Post-Covid Recovery
During the Corona period, some extreme measures were implemented in Germany, according to the Federal Chancellor, looking back. A group of citizens should discuss this issue, as Scholz suggests. All parties in the traffic light coalition are on board with this idea. The SPD and FDP, however, call for an additional investigative commission.
In the traffic light coalition, there's consensus about examining the German Corona policy in a group of citizens. Marianne Schieder, chairman of the citizen's council working group in the Bundestag, told the "Stern" newspaper, "I think a group of citizens would be an ideal place for discussing the handling of the Corona pandemic." Schieder highlighted the diverse makeup of such a group, which mirrors society and allows those heavily affected by the measures to participate in the process.
"Our SPD parliamentary group welcomes the appointment of the next citizens' group with this topic," said Schieder. Similar sentiments were echoed by the Federal Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, in the ARD program "Report from Berlin." Scholz finds the idea of citizens' groups dealing with the issue the most appealing.
FDP: "Definitive Findings"
The Greens and FDP also support a Corona citizens' group but insist on an additional investigative commission. "A combination of a citizens' group and an investigative commission seems appropriate to us, so we're better prepared for future similar situations," said Maria Klein-Schmeink, deputy chairman of the Greens' parliamentary group, to the magazine. Negotiations are ongoing.
The FDP considers an investigative commission to be "critical." "A citizens' group can offer additional perspectives, but it can't reach binding conclusions," said Andrew Ullmann, health policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, to the "Stern." "Political decision-making should happen in parliament," Ullmann insisted. The responsibility lies with political decision-makers, and now it's the responsibility of parliamentarians to scrutinize decisions and draw conclusions from them. "It should never be that we, as parliamentarians, hand off responsibility for what's happened to a random assortment of citizens," warned the FDP politician.
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In the discussions about the Corona crisis recovery in Germany, the traffic light coalition advocates for a citizens' group to evaluate the implemented measures, such as the mask requirement. As Andrew Ullmann, health policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, stated, "A citizens' group can offer additional perspectives, but it can't reach binding conclusions." Despite this, Ullmann supports the idea of a citizens' group, emphasizing that political decision-making should happen in parliament, and it's the responsibility of parliamentarians to scrutinize decisions and draw conclusions from them.
