Bayern Munich's honorary president Uli Hoeneß thinks the new health minister Karl Lauterbach (SPD) is really good.

“As long as he was not in office, I had my problems with him.

I found that he knows everything better.

Now I'm a total fan of Karl Lauterbach, because I have the feeling that he understands a lot about the matter and is a doer, ”said Hoeneß (69) in an interview with the German press agency.

The 58-year-old Lauterbach has to manage the corona measures in the new German traffic light government.

Hoeneß praised the SPD politician for his thirst for action in the first few weeks in the ministerial office and criticized his predecessor: “For example, he takes stock of the vaccine and worries about what is missing. As soon as the drug paxlovid against severe Covid courses has been accepted, he orders a million packs. His predecessor Jens Spahn was the announcement world champion, but did little to achieve it. ”Lauterbach is“ not right for everyone - but he is someone who acts, and I prefer someone like that ten times ”.

Hoeneß is a clear advocate of vaccination, but he has rethought the currently hotly debated introduction of mandatory vaccination in Germany.

“At times I was in favor, but then I imagined: What do you do with a person who absolutely does not want to be vaccinated?

I consider mandatory imprinting without ifs and buts to be too big a problem that can tend to divide society.

But the way the situation is right now, it also means that the rights of those who have not been vaccinated must be restricted, ”says the former Bayern president, who will be 70 years old this Wednesday.

"I don't have to decide that"

Hoeneß welcomes the fact that national player Josuha Kimmich (26) has rethought vaccination after suffering from his own corona disease. "I give him credit for standing up and saying, 'I got it wrong.' I would like that from more people. I think it's good that he wants to get vaccinated as soon as possible. That can give impetus to many people who think differently. "

Under certain conditions, Hoeneß votes for an extension of the controversial partnership between FC Bayern and Qatar Airways beyond 2023. "I don't have to decide that," he said, referring to the board of directors responsible for the record champions around Oliver Kahn. But: "Personally, I would tend to extend it if we have the feeling that we can make a contribution with this partnership, that things on site will improve and will continue to improve."

The annual general meeting at the end of November on the issue of Qatar escalated into a heated controversy between the Bayern leadership and some of the fans and members.

A membership application to vote on the partnership for the future was not accepted by the club's management.

Hoeneß then spoke of the "worst event" he had ever experienced at Bayern.

At the end of the meeting he had gone to the lectern, but then left without a word.

"I'm glad that the mic ran out of juice," he now clarified.

He would have wanted to stand by President Herbert Hainer and CEO Oliver Kahn.