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Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) recently said repeatedly that the corona pandemic is a “tremendous effort”, especially for families.
On the Internet, she therefore now answered the questions of a population group that is particularly affected by the lockdown: parents.
14 mothers and fathers were allowed to join the program on Thursday morning on Facebook and on the official website of the ministry.
Those involved were selected by organizations such as Diakonie and Caritas, the German Family Association and associations for the concerns of single parents and large families.
It all started with a mother from Rhineland-Palatinate with two children, two and eight years old.
According to the lawyer who works for the Evangelical Church, among other things, she lives in a "binational patchwork long-distance family" and the father of her children lives in Sweden.
In fact, she is a single parent and felt the first lockdown in "full severity".
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At first her network would have helped, but "then everything stuck to me", so her frustrated conclusion.
Working, childcare, cooking food, when that was exhausting.
In addition, there was an unpleasant stigmatization.
For example, she had her children with her shopping and then had to listen to "stupid" comments about them.
“No, I can't leave the two-year-old at home alone,” she remembers irritably.
She was also very annoyed that even her elementary school child had to take a shopping cart for reasons of infection protection.
Her bitter conclusion: "The overall mood is very bad".
Merkel has already heard of the Corona generation
The Chancellor finds this understandable.
At this point, she wanted to encourage more understanding for parents, for example with regard to the shopping situation, which she also described as awkward.
Overall, Merkel continued, this was an extraordinary time that “we want to overcome as quickly as possible”.
The fact that there is currently no school in Germany has never happened before.
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She has already heard from children who describe themselves as the "Corona generation", which is not good.
Nevertheless, she could not yet give any good answers regarding the childcare situation.
First, the number of cases would have to be reduced, only then could daycare centers and elementary schools reopen.
The Chancellor then referred to the decision to pay out another child bonus of 150 euros per child.
Even if this does not directly relieve the burden on the organization of time - it hopefully helps.
"It hurts me when I see your misfortune," Merkel says sympathetically.
On the subject of child bonuses, the mother answers directly and she becomes critical.
In her case, half of the 150 euros would go to her father.
"I can't even finance the masks for the children from the 75 euros," she said, her damning verdict.
The sum is a "drop in the ocean." Nevertheless, she closes her remarks with praise for the Chancellor, for whom she, quote, "respect": "I don't want to be in your skin." Merkel thanks and promises to speak to the family minister again with regard to single parents and the child bonus.
"A drop in the ocean"
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The next one follows in the question and answer session.
It is a widower from Karlsruhe who has children aged 5 and 7 who are currently in emergency care.
He has the feeling that the usual parent “hamster wheel” is turning even faster due to Corona.
"I feel like a steamed noodle through," is his admission.
He immediately agreed with the previous speaker.
"The Corona child benefit is a drop in the ocean," he says.
Then he calculates that he would pay 30 euros more for electricity a month and cook many more meals.
Nevertheless, these 150 euros are at least "better than nothing."
He also sees in the immediate environment how great the need for many people is.
He himself had luck with his employer in the first lockdown, but that was not a matter of course.
As an example, the man names hairdressers and their "professional ban".
Angela Merkel wants to contradict him immediately, but is only belated to speak.
She explains that they are trying to help the hairdressers and many others with bridging aids.
Overall, however, she agrees that it is a very complicated situation for employees in the industry.
"It remains an extremely difficult time", is her conclusion, before she asks directly about his life situation: "Are your children now being looked after?"
Yes, he says, but then the Internet almost breaks down for him.
The chancellor, who is experienced in video conferencing, reacts with expertise.
She advises him to turn off the video so that he can be heard better.
That works.
The father explains that emergency care is going well.
Nevertheless, he had one more wish, and that would be to finally remedy the rampant teacher shortage in Germany and fill vacant positions so that alternate classes would also be possible.
Yes, that makes sense to her, says Merkel here, too, before wishing him all the best - and an hour for the sport.
One wishes to emphasize the value of the family more
Next comes a father who is apparently supposed to represent large families.
He has five children aged two to 13, the family lives in Berlin.
One thing is important to him in the debate: the families have done an excellent job.
“In times of crisis, the family is there, the state is often not,” he said.
The lockdown is a “gigantic experiment” from which lessons for the relationship between family and state should be drawn, he continues.
The Chancellor contradicts him: She would not want to say "experiment" about the corona pandemic.
Life is now “unpredictable”.
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“Family is the core of society, that has been shown,” she praised.
No state can replace their services.
According to Angela Merkel, she has great respect for families, but also for volunteers.
Then it gets personal: Germans should be happy that there are big families too, and not look funny.
“I don't have any children myself, I think it's exhausting.
But there are sure to be nice moments too, ”she asks her father from Berlin.
The confirms their observation and says that at the beginning of the pandemic it was indeed nice to spend more time with the children - "but now the resources are finite".
A conclusion that all parents will probably agree with in the 90-minute talk.