Ahead of crucial discussions among parliamentary groups regarding the planned review of the coronavirus policy and the mask affair, the Green party is increasing pressure on the governing coalition and presenting demands for a joint approach.
According to a letter from Irene Mihalic, the First Parliamentary Secretary of the Green parliamentary group, addressed to the SPD and Union, the current proposal “falls short and urgently needs to be expanded”. The Green party emphasizes that the review “should not take place behind closed doors, but must be transparent” as reported by the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
With this communication, the Greens are setting the tone for a meeting between the SPD, Union, Left party and Greens in the Bundestag. The black-red coalition has invited discussions for Thursday on whether the four parliamentary groups can still agree on a common course of action for the review of the coronavirus pandemic.
However, the letter makes it clear that the plans of the SPD and Union do not yet go far enough on key points for the Greens. The letter to the inquiry committee states that “important aspects such as the social and societal impacts of the pandemic are currently missing, particularly the perspective of families, children and young people, as well as the consideration of mental health”. Mihalic also cautions against excluding the public from the inquiry committee’s proceedings, stressing that the population, “deeply affected” by the coronavirus period, must be involved in the review process.
It is also clear that the inquiry committee is not sufficient for the Greens. They primarily want the mask affair involving the former Health Minister, Jens Spahn and current leader of the Union parliamentary group, to continue to be investigated by a parliamentary inquiry committee. The Greens express their conviction that “it is also in the most fundamental interest of CDU/CSU and SPD to clarify the serious accusation that billions of euros of taxpayer money were at least negligently wasted under the justification of the special requirements of the coronavirus crisis”.