At the end of a week with new record incidences every day, it was decided: Masks are no longer compulsory in Germany.
It remains unclear whether the state parliaments will be able to reintroduce them across the board via “hotspot regulation”.
With large majorities, the Bundestag and Bundesrat approved the new Infection Protection Act on Friday.
However, the majority of members of parliament and state governments who find the amendment wrong is much broader.
The FDP has managed a coup.
The smallest partner in the government coalition prevailed against Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and his SPD as well as against the even more openly critical Greens.
The majority of the coalition wanted to listen to the expert council set up by the traffic light, which advocated the obligation to wear masks, but the FDP’s need to set a sign of freedom prevailed.
Is society getting used to the number of deaths?
The traffic light crammed through the “difficult compromise” (Lauterbach).
In doing so, she accepted duping the countries.
Whether under red, black, green or dark red leadership: all 16 state governments had vigorously opposed the law.
But in the Federal Council they agreed.
Otherwise there would have been no protective measures at all.
That's a high-risk bet.
It is quite possible that the hospitals will withstand the infection pressure due to the current often mild courses - and that society will get used to the hundreds of corona deaths every day, especially in times of war.
If so, the FDP will celebrate itself as a force that defended freedom when all prime ministers were still insisting on “measures” as if they were in line.
If not, they can still pass the buck to the state parliaments.
At one point, the way the yellow traffic light wiggled the German dog will certainly take revenge: the federal-state relationship is disrupted.
For the first time, both sides have not made a statement on the pandemic after their top meeting.
This does not bode well for future corona crises.