Germany is getting closer to a decision on mandatory vaccination

For many it is a way out of the pandemic, for others it is a deprivation of freedom. The introduction of mandatory vaccination is being hotly debated in Germany, and from this Sunday also in the Bundestag. And there are more people who are in favor than those who are against.

The plenary hall of the Bundestag was full, at least at the beginning of the four-hour debate. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Foreign Minister Analena Berbok (Greens), and Health Minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) were also there. The mood was quite tense, there were protests in front of the Bundestag, and helicopters flew over the building.

At the very beginning, the Speaker of the Parliament Berbel Bas (SPD) called for an objective discussion. People are exhausted because of the corona, she said and warned: "Let's keep in mind that in these tense times people expect orientation from us above all."

For a long time, most politicians in Germany rejected the idea of ​​compulsory vaccination, but the new government under Chancellor Scholz is now in favor of it. Until now, not enough citizens have been voluntarily vaccinated, only 73,6 percent, without a booster dose.

Released from "party discipline"

The problem with voting for mandatory vaccination in the Bundestag is this: not all MPs of the ruling SPD, Greens and Liberals (FDP) are in favor of it. The new government, which has only been in power since December, is not at all sure that it has a majority in Parliament on this issue.

That is why the cabinet proposed that MPs be freed from the restrictions of the so-called "party discipline" within parliamentary groups, in order to bring together mixed groups based on who is for and who is against mandatory vaccination. This means that there will be no voting based on membership of a parliamentary group.

MP Tino Zorge of the opposition CDU, however, was against it: "I wish we had at least a blueprint of how to conduct this discussion." Unfortunately, that did not happen." Andrea Lindhoc from the also opposition Bavarian CSU was even harsher - she said that the government is refusing to do its job in this matter.

Mixed groups - how does it work?

Party discipline? Of course, every MP is free to make his own decision. However, during the largest number of votes, it is expected that they will adhere to the plans of their parliamentary group, and this is usually the case.

However, in the German Bundestag until now there is often a discussion when this informal pressure has been removed. Deputies were officially encouraged to have an open discussion and to look for allies for their position in other parliamentary groups. This was the case, for example, when voting on euthanasia or abortion - that is, on some issues that concern the conscience. Then the groups are first formed, and they present their proposals later.

Who is against mandatory vaccination?

There are currently three such groups in the Bundestag, and it must be said that the situation is unpredictable. In addition, the parliamentary group of the opposition Alternative for Germany (AfD) is categorically not only against mandatory vaccination, but also against all restrictions due to the corona virus.

Party leader Tino Krupala lashed out at all other parties: "We have reached the point where vaccines are almost given a religious status." They should be an element that connects citizens so that they can be part of society." Mandatory vaccination as an instrument of society division? Alice Weidel, head of the AfD parliamentary group, spoke provocatively of "authoritarian mass murder".

Liberal Wolfgang Kubicki (FDP), vice president of the Bundestag, is also against mandatory vaccination. But he is against it for completely different reasons than the AfD. Kubicki emphasizes that he himself has been vaccinated, thanks the vaccine manufacturers, but recalls that for a long time almost everyone was against mandatory vaccination: "The essential idea was the following: the state intervention must end at the moment when everyone receives an offer to be vaccinated. And that everyone bears an individual risk for their life."

Mandatory vaccination for everyone over 18?

The remaining two groups are in favor of mandatory vaccination and it seems that most of the MPs who were on the floor are leaning towards one of them. One suggests that everyone over the age of 18 be vaccinated. This opinion is shared by Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach, as well as Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Lauterbach warns that action needs to be taken quickly, saying, “We're not going to make progress by pushing the problem away. We need at least five to six months to implement the vaccination obligation. This means the following: if we decide to implement it now, then in the fall we will be armed." So then when a possible new wave of corona could again lead to an increase in the number of infection cases.

Mandatory vaccination only for people over 50?

The third group is in favor of mandatory vaccination of people over 50 years of age. Paula Pjekota from the Greens, otherwise a doctor from Leipzig, is one of them. She also asked the question whether, after the eventual introduction of the obligation to vaccinate, this long and exhausting debate will end? And she herself answered him like this: "No one can say that the situation in all provinces will really calm down and that radicalization will not happen again."

Mandatory vaccination for people over 50 is therefore a kind of compromise, according to MP Pjekota. The goal, he says, is to finally put an end to the pandemic, without further dividing society.

What to do next?

If in the end there is a majority in favor of mandatory vaccination from all those ideas and proposals, then, according to the Government, the appropriate law could be passed by the end of March.

And yet, many details are still unclear: what would be the penalties if people don't get vaccinated, how long will that obligation last, and how can it be formulated in a legally correct way? One thing is for sure, it will be a tough road.