During the refugee crisis and the corona pandemic, Saxony was one of the regions where the demonstrations were particularly loud. There was no “hot autumn” as a result of the current price explosions. Is the Free State returning to calm waters?
Dresden (dpa / sn) – The Saxon Minister of Social Affairs Petra Köpping (SPD) believes that the time has come for unity in the citizenry. “The Corona crisis was a hard turning point for social cohesion, even stronger than the refugee crisis. A hard turning point because it affected everyone,” she told the German Press Agency. People would have contacted her who had lost relatives to Corona and demanded tougher action. “And there were those who were spared Corona and who saw it all as nonsense. Many families were broken up by the Corona crisis. I know families where young people were secretly vaccinated because they didn’t dare tell their parents. “
“Now is the time to be reconciled,” said the minister, who is also responsible for social cohesion in her department. Most people survived the pandemic well and remained reasonably healthy. Conflicts must now be settled. “I have never judged morally when employees in health facilities did not want to be vaccinated.” The obligation to vaccinate was created under the impression of the dangerous delta variant of the corona virus. When the criteria no longer applied, the obligation to vaccinate should have been withdrawn.
“There is a lot of scolding about the federal government at the moment,” emphasized the minister. The federal government had a duty to give people clarity about the increasing burdens as quickly as possible. “The federal government succeeded – late, but not too late.” Thanks to the relief packages from the federal government, there is now a little more trust among the population. That prevented a “hot autumn.” It was the right way to give people security.”
Köpping reminded that East Germans are particularly “prone to crises”: “They earn an average of 700 euros less a month. The ceiling is simply shorter here. Reserves were used up during the Corona period, if they even existed at all.” Even a savings account is usually much smaller in the East. Most of them could not build on a large inheritance either and would have had to work for everything themselves in their lives. “There is a greater concern here that we will no longer be able to afford many things in the future. This topic still does not have the necessary priority in the federal government. Even if a lot has already happened.”
