In the fifth anniversary of the COVID-19 outbreak in Germany, Bundestagsvizepräsidentin Katrin Göring-Eckardt has called for a candid analysis of the pandemic’s policy. “We need an unflinching review, without further division” said the Green Party politician to the “Stern”.
She suggested establishing a citizens’ council to review the COVID-19 pandemic and prepare for a potential next pandemic emergency. Göring-Eckardt also proposed creating a central memorial site for the pandemic’s victims, describing it as “a place of containment, of remembrance, of grief and of hope”.
In her remarks, Göring-Eckardt also expressed self-criticism, acknowledging that “we didn’t know how to handle the virus back then and had to act and mistakes were made. Above all, children suffered the most from the measures. They lost an irretrievable part of their childhood.”
Earlier, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier had also called for a review of the COVID-19 policy after the federal election. “If a new government and a new Bundestag do not take up this task, I will do so” said the head of state to the “Stern”. He would then establish his own commission. “Review would create the opportunity to win back people who have lost trust in democracy or at least doubt it” Steinmeier said.