German Bundestag Approves Controversial National Corona Law

The German Bundestag has agreed to a change in the law that will allow the German government to impose direct corona measures, including a hotly contested curfew and contact restrictions.

 

Berlin can now pull a ‘national emergency brake’ outside the sixteen states.

Chancellor Angela Merkel believes that the fight against the coronavirus, as it was arranged with the federal states, has been half-hearted and inadequate. She has had the law amended to intervene directly in areas with a lot of infections. The Federal Council, where the federal states have the power, will consider the issue on Thursday.

The Christian Democratic and Social Democratic coalition parties rallied behind the government’s proposal to end the third corona wave. The opposition’s criticism, on the other hand, was harsh. The largest opposition party, Alternative für Deutschland, spoke of an attack on freedom and common sense.

The liberal FDP called a general curfew not an appropriate means in the fight against corona and announced legal action. The Greens thought the plans were vague and abstained from the German media report.

A demonstration in Berlin against the corona law led to confrontations with the police, who used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse the crowd. At least thirty demonstrators were arrested.

An estimated 8,000 protesters were in the German capital to express their dissatisfaction with the tightening of the legislation. Most of the participants did not wear face masks and did not keep sufficient distance.