Sebastian
Münzenmaier
Government
Declaration
German Bundestag, April 23, 2020, Plenarprotokoll
19/156, pp. 19313-19314
[Sebastain Münzenmaier
is an Alternative für Deutschland Bundestag member from the western state of
Rheinland Pfalz. He is an insurance salesman
and currently chairman of the Bundestag’s tourism committee. He here responds to a general statement of government policy made in the Bundestag by Chancellor Angela Merkel.]
Right
honorable Herr President. Right honorable ladies and gentlemen.
After
all the pacifying and prettyfication which you, Frau Chancellor, have brought
forward here, I believe it is important that we once again call to mind the
following facts:
First.
The absolute shutdown of this country was avoidable.
Second.
As the Federal government, you bear, based on your initial delays and failures,
the responsibility for the extremely harsh impact upon our basic rights and our
economic life. Other states like South Korea or Taiwan have early shown how, by
means of rapid action and intelligent solutions, a complete running down of a
country can be avoided. The actions of this government in the early phase of
the pandemic are instead a singular chronicle of failure. As the first news of
a new form of virus from China arrived, this government did nothing. As Wuhan
was cordoned off, you did nothing. When our delegation with a motion here in
the German Bundestag on February 12 demanded resistance against the spread of
the epidemic in Germany, you all laughed and instead did nothing. Even when
Iran for weeks was categorized as an at risk area for the Corona virus,
aircraft from Tehran landed at the Frankfurt airport without problem, without
tests, without quarantine measures or entry restrictions.
Health
Minister Jens Spahn robustly announced that Germany was well prepared. Dear
Herr Spahn, there were as a consequence bottlenecks in the supply of
disinfectant. Medical practices and hospitals suffered under enormous shortages
of protective masks.
Michael Grosse-Brömer (CDU-CSU): So
in Italy and Spain, all’s well?
Ridiculous!
The
testing capacity was by far insufficient. Your materials procurement efforts,
by then hectic, and most of all, started too late, were marked
by bankruptcy, bad luck and breakdown [Pleite,
Pech und Pannen]. I myself remember for example the sudden diversion of
millions of medical protective masks at some airport in Kenya. If that was your
well-prepared, Herr Spahn, then you are not fit for the job.
If
the German Bundestag had to present you with a work evaluation, then the best that
could be on it would be “always trying” [“Stets
bemüht”].
Michael Grosse-Brömer (CDU-CSU): Who
has written this speech for you?
Thanks
to your initial inactivity and then to the misfortunate shutdown, the Corona
virus in the meantime has become a danger for our economy and for our society
and is plunging our country into the greatest economic crisis which we have
ever experienced.
You
slumbered through the early starting time for preventative measures and now you
are slumbering through the urgently required exit from the shutdown. Daily,
despairing citizens call to implore us, and before all you, to finally lift the
protective measures so that they can attempt to save their once flourishing
businesses and firms.
Yet
you in your government declaration here make quite clear where your priorities
lie. You have spoken much of Europe, of European solidarity in the area of
climate defense, that you wish to relieve the world’s poor countries from the
interest and amortization of debts. Where were your words for the despairing
businessman? Where were your words for the restaurant trade [die Gastronomie], Frau Merkel?
Of
the more than 220,000 restaurant operations in Germany, with over 2.4 million
employed, one out of three is threatened with insolvency. What are you doing
towards an announcement of their relief? You offer no prospect at all to the
restaurants and many other branches. Instead, last night you decided to combine
the value-added tax on food and reduce it to 7 percent. A tax reduction on food
that cannot be sold! This is a government of experts, I must truly say! Madness!
On
the whole, your relief measures are completely insufficient and marked with
senselessness. One may not happen to be in the beer garden in the fresh air and
under protection of distancing and hygiene rules, but one may bustle about in
an over-crowded hardware store with hundreds of other people. You may be
infected in a large electronics store, if it is over 800 square meters, but
that is not the case in a small book shop. All of this is entirely arbitrary
and pulled out of the air.
We
of the AfD demand quite clearly: Permit now to all businesses, regardless of
size of area, and all restaurants and other disadvantaged branches, a complete opening
under protection of distancing and hygiene rules, ladies and gentlemen. Finally
give some prospect again to the many hardworking people of this country.
But
in that regard, the only thing that occurs to you, Frau Chancellor, is that you
do not want – I quote – “opening discussion orgies”. Frau Chancellor, as we all know, that is a
value to which, according to your wisdom and measures taken, there is
apparently no alternative. Yet I therefore want to remind you in this sovereign
house: You are not Louis XIV. You do not stand above the law. And even you are
only elected for a time.
You
have today spoken of that – I cite with permission of the president – “this
pandemic is a democratic imposition…” I say to you: The democratic imposition
is not the pandemic, but this Federal government, ladies and gentlemen.
On
that account, I appeal once again to you, Frau Merkel, and to the entire
Federal government:
Michael Grosse-Brömer (CDU-CSU): Now
it gets embarrassing.
Finally
restore the constitutional order of this country and give back to the people
their freedom!
Many
thanks for your attention.
Jan Korte (Linke): That is so
mega-wrong!
[Translated by Todd Martin]
