BERLIN – Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday ruled out an unpopular plan to close the German economy for two extra days over Easter, apologizing for what she called “a mistake” amid widespread anger over the increasingly chaotic approach to your government to fight the coronavirus.
The chancellor’s reversal came less than 36 hours after she proposed two additional “days off” around Easter, effectively extending the existing holiday to five consecutive days in hopes of stopping an increase in coronavirus infections. The suggestion – made after almost 12 hours of deliberations between Merkel and the leaders of Germany’s 16 states – was met with an almost immediate reaction because it would have required companies to close.
Faced with criticism from her own conservative bloc and opposition politicians, along with a flood of complaints from an audience worn out by 12 months of blockades and reopening, the chancellor called a quick press conference and announced her decision to reverse the course.
“The idea of an Easter strike was made with the best of intentions, because we must be able to slow and reverse the third wave of the pandemic,” she said. “Even so, the idea of the extended Easter holiday was a mistake, with good reason, but it was not possible to implement it in such a short time.”
A year ago, Ms. Merkel was praised at home and abroad for her science-based and clearly communicated approach to managing the pandemic, allowing her health minister and medical experts to deal with daily updates. However, 12 months later, a series of conflicting decisions, such as banning travel within Germany, but allowing Germans to fly to the Spanish resort of Mallorca, and announcing major policy changes in late-night or late-night press conferences, has spotted your reputation.
“Last year, it was a perfect combination of real leadership communication on a regular basis,” said Andrea Römmele, dean of the Hertie School in Berlin. “Now, in the third wave, the relevance and consistency of this approach to communication has been forgotten and lost.”
At the same time, Germany is seeing growing skepticism about the government, fueled by online conspiracy theories and the far-right Alternative Party for Germany, whose confrontational approach has led to a breakdown of parliamentary consensus policy.
The conservative bloc was also hit by a scandal in which several lawmakers resigned because of revelations that they had earned six-digit fees for facilitating the sale of medical-grade masks amid a global shortage last year, at a time when millions of Germans were stuck and out of work.
“I think the handling has been poor,” said Leoni Nagler, 19, a student in Berlin about the performance of the Merkel government over the past 12 months. “It’s been a year and things are worse, if they are.”
Nagler said his faith in the government took a hit last fall, when it imposed a light block that had to be extended and tightened when it didn’t work. The government responded by introducing more restrictions on public life as of mid-December, which have not yet been fully removed.
On their way to Monday’s meeting, the chancellor and state leaders hoped to be able to announce the possibility of traveling during the long Easter weekend, widely regarded as the start of the German travel season, when thousands flock to the northern beaches and from the mountains in the south, or take your campers on road trips.
Instead, Merkel, with bleary eyes, appeared on camera on Tuesday not only to announce that existing restrictions would be extended until April 18 – including limits for Easter meetings, including in churches – but to propose two extra days off.
On Wednesday, criticism was coming not only from the opposition, but also from within the Chancellor’s own Christian Democratic ranks. “Since yesterday, we have furious farmers, merchants and butchers on the line,” Jana Schimke, a Christian Democratic lawmaker, wrote on Twitter, urging the chancellor to reverse the course.
“There is a growing concern across the economy about lasting and irreparable damage,” said Siegfried Russwurm, president of the powerful BDI association of German industries. He emphasized the need for a “coherent pandemic concept” and urged leaders to consider more than the number of infections in their risk calculations.
For weeks, Germany saw the number of new infections increase after a sustained period of decline, as the British variant spread across the country. At the same time, less than 10 percent of those eligible for a vaccine received it because of delivery problems and a vaccine campaign hampered by bureaucracy and lack of flexibility.
“An error should be called an error,” said the chancellor when announcing its reversal. “I know that this whole procedure has created additional confusion, I ask your forgiveness.”
The reversal was just the latest in a series of chaotic moves by the Merkel government. His health minister abruptly announced last week that the country was suspending vaccination with AstraZeneca, only to reverse the course after the European drug regulator released its use.
The suspension delayed Germany several days in its vaccination campaign and further weakened confidence in AstraZeneca. The company’s vaccine was already suffering from an imaging problem in Germany after experts initially limited its use to adults 64 and under, citing a lack of information about the effects on older people. That decision was reversed several weeks later.
Despite the frustrations, many Germans realize that the only way to stop the virus from spreading is to reduce contact between people and return to their homes. As costly as the idea may be after a year of restrictions, almost a third of the Germans interviewed last week said that the government’s measures have not gone far enough.
The number of new infections in the country has been steadily increasing since the beginning of March. Many intensive care stations have no more than two free beds.
“I think they are not focusing enough on long-term goals and too much on details and formalities,” said Anni Koch, 24. “We may need to go through another total block, which would be annoying, but perhaps necessary.”
Christopher F. Schuetze contributed reports.