display

The outrage before the event was great.

On Friday evening, the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Saxony had invited to a digital public event.

The star guest: Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer, who had decreed a hard lockdown for his Free State in December.

Title of the public conference: "Facts instead of fake news - questions and answers about the corona crisis using the example of the triangle."

The accusation raised above all by the Greens, the left and the Social Democrats: With this format, Kretschmer offers a platform for corona deniers and right-wing extremists in particular.

Conclusion of the event: It was a quiet, informative evening.

But one after anonther.

Almost two weeks ago, about 30 Kretschmer corona deniers marched in front of his private house in the small community of Waltersdorf in Upper Lusatia on a Sunday.

The Christian Democrat was shoveling snow with his son.

display

For almost half an hour, the politician discussed with the “guests” who demanded an end to the lockdown and were convinced that “no one had died of Corona yet”.

When a demonstrator turned out to be a citizen of the Reich, Kretschmer broke off the conversation.

However, he promised to continue the "dialogue" on another occasion.

The idea of ​​the digital event was born.

The row in the Kenya coalition

That caused a row, not least in Kretschmer's Kenya coalition.

The Christian Democrat has been leading an alliance of CDU, Greens and SPD for over a year.

If you meet with people “who deliberately cross borders”, complained for example the Dresden SPD member of the state parliament Albrecht Pallas, they are encouraged to “continue in the same way”.

The Leipzig Bundestag member Monika Lazar of the Greens accused the Prime Minister of sending a "difficult signal".

You just have to be loud and “demonstrate in front of the private property” to Michael Kretschmer, and you get an offer of dialogue that others don't.

display

Werner Schulz, a former civil rights activist and founder of the Greens in Saxony, could not understand these attacks on Kretschmer at all.

Kretschmer is "as a courageous citizen against the angry citizens", he praised in an interview with the "Leipziger Volkszeitung".

Not talking to corona demonstrators would be a failure of the politicians.

Conspiracy myths are particularly dangerous "if they remain unchallenged," said the old green.

His party's criticism of the head of government astonishes him, especially since the green roots of the Saxon Greens are also in the New Forum.

The name alone was a clear invitation to “talk to each other”.

But it wasn't about conspiracy myths at all

But during the two-hour discussion event of the Adenauerstiftung, which was attended by Kretschmer, the mayor of Zittau, the head of a senior citizens' center, the medical director of a hospital in Upper Lusatia and the head of the Saxon vaccination commission, it wasn't about conspiracy myths at all.

Rather, it is about everyday, burning problems that the Saxons are currently grappling with.

Around 800 people listened via Zoom, Facebook and YouTube.

Before Kretschmer and the other participants discussed the detailed questions on the digital podium, the representative of a “group of citizens” explained that a “target-oriented dialogue” would not be possible that evening.

display

Why?

Because there is “no equal distribution of different opinions” among those who should give answers.

It was left open who they would have liked as a conversation partner.

But it was now clear: the people who wanted to grind Kretschmer at the garden fence were obviously out of the live dialogue.

They moved their activities to Facebook, wrote comments on the live stream from YouTube.

Some commentators complained that their questions did not get through.

The tone, reported dpa after reviewing the forums, was "mostly objective".

Nobody questioned the existence of the virus

Over 100 questions were submitted about the various broadcast formats, almost a third could be answered.

Nobody questioned the existence of the virus.

The measures of the Saxon state government certainly do.

The 15-kilometer rule was particularly criticized.

Sarah Hahn wanted to know why you couldn't stretch your legs anywhere else than in the immediate vicinity of the apartment.

She finds the restriction of the freedom of movement very stressful.

“You can't do things by halves,” replied Kretschmer.

He now knows every tree in the Dresden Heath.

But the measures would have an effect.

In December, the corona incidence in Saxony was over 500, and has now fallen to 130.

Then he promised easing, but emphasized: "It can only be done step by step".

The 15-kilometer rule is certainly one of the first restrictive measures "that will fall".

You have to endure 14 days.

Then there will be more face-to-face teaching in schools again.

The questions just tumbled into the digital discussion format.

How well is the cooperation with the Czech Republic going?

Kretschmer's analogous answer: OK.

Except for the indispensable commuters, nobody can get in, and tests are carried out beforehand.

Anyone who wants to cross the border has to provide valid reasons.

Refueling, shopping or skiing are not included.

The experts were also asked, such as the head of the vaccination commission, Thomas Grünewald.

How quickly can the vaccine be adapted to the mutations if it doesn't work?

He said three to four months.

Would he also grapple with other opinions?

He got headwinds every day, he said, sometimes borders were crossed.

Many emails are offensive.

But he is open to discussion, “it has to be like that”.

The pandemic is on Kretschmer's nerves

Not only Kretschmer, but also the other participants, it was noticeable how the pandemic is on the nerves.

Bergit Kahl, head of a senior citizens' home, reported on stressful days in December when residents became seriously ill and many employees were infected.

“The fear was always there,” she said.

The worst is now over, she hopes.

Solidarity works well on a small scale, but cohesion is lacking on a large scale.

And unfortunately she was catching people in the hallway again who weren't wearing masks.

display

Mathias Mengel, medical director of a hospital, also experienced December as a horror month.

The nurses, many of whom could no longer come to work due to infection, were "on the verge of incapacity", the intensive care units were full.

In the meantime the situation has relaxed.

But the fear that the second could be followed by a third, fourth, fifth wave was clearly noticeable in the practitioners on the Corona front.

"We mustn't let up now!" Emphasized Kretschmer.

"We are not a dictatorship, but a constitutional state," said Kretschmer.

It is not easy for him to have ordered the restrictions.

But in December "the situation became untenable", "twice as many people died as the average of the last 10 years".

An emergency to which he had to respond.

Now one shouldn't rashly risk "that this will blow our minds again".

In the end, the conversation was about how to endure all of this.

A mother of seven, who asked for advice and support live, seemed recognizable at the end of her tether.

"At some point we will have to talk about it: what has that done to us" said the head of government.

Even he couldn't answer that evening when life would return to normal.

But he was certain of one thing: “Germany has to go to the couch after this crisis”.