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Corona measures | Spahn's masquerade

Corona measures | Spahn's masquerade
Jens Spahn still has a lot to laugh about in his own parliamentary group.

The tone is growing harsher in the scandal surrounding the federal government's mask procurement during the coronavirus pandemic. While the left-wing opposition accuses the CDU of attempting to cover up the investigation report, former Health Minister Jens Spahn is firing back with comparisons to the AfD . At least in broad terms, it is undisputed that a lot went wrong at the beginning of the pandemic, billions were squandered on overpriced products, and unnecessary infection risks arose from inferior masks. And this was the result of the mishandling of a minister who, despite well-functioning procurement structures in other ministries and against the advice of his own staff, was determined to take matters into his own hands. The question is, in detail, how something like this could have happened at the time and how the whole thing should be assessed.

The process is tailor-made for a parliamentary committee of inquiry. This is quite different from the review of the coronavirus measures, which requires independent expertise beyond politics in order to draw important lessons for the future. For this, an inquiry commission is the first choice. In contrast, the mask affair involves blatant misconduct by the executive branch that caused massive damage. There are even criminal matters and the question of nepotism at stake. Without meticulous questioning of all those involved, much would remain unnecessarily obscure, which would be a disrepute to the much-praised parliamentary democracy.

Spahn must be credited with the fact that the position of Health Minister became a hot seat at the beginning of 2020 due to the pandemic, and of course, he doesn't have to accept every accusation. But his masquerade as a morally clean politician and the victim of a vicious opposition is brazen: If the leader of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group considers himself completely innocent, he of all people should be pushing for a committee of inquiry instead of refusing to establish one. The SPD's reluctance is also incomprehensible, even if a Social Democratic finance minister loosened up the funding for masks at the time. The Left and the Greens are being forced by the governing parties to join forces with the AfD and further boost the far right. The fear that this is merely a matter of washing political laundry and convening a tribunal with a predetermined outcome is nonsense. The proportional representation of the parliamentary group guarantees that this is not the case. A committee of inquiry could provide more clarity about the events – isn't that what is desired?

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