Bundestag President Schäuble proposes a shortened summer vacation. CSU boss Markus Söder calls for vacation within Germany. The debate about travel time is picking up speed.
In view of the Corona pandemic, a discussion has flared up about this year’s summer vacation. During the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) recommended planning a vacation in Germany, recommended his Saarland colleague Tobias Hans (CDU) reluctance on Thursday. “It is now too early to debate summer vacation,” said Hans on RTL.
The previous successes should not be jeopardized. “We feel our way forward very carefully, we are driving with both hands on the steering wheel, so to speak, and I believe that only this action is ultimately responsible,” said Hans. Nevertheless, the country cannot lock itself in forever. “We have to go back to a new normal, a normal with Corona.”
After almost four weeks, Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and the Prime Ministers of the federal states agreed on Wednesday to ease the first measures to combat the corona virus in Germany. This allows small and medium-sized businesses to reopen. The schools, on the other hand, remain tight for most of the pupils, only for a few classes there will be classes again from May 4th – individual countries may differ from the dates. The contact restrictions imposed due to the pandemic have been extended to at least May 3.
Balconies with parasols (symbolic picture): CSU boss Söder recommends planning a vacation in Germany. (Source: imago images)
CSU boss recommends vacation in Germany
Söder had previously recommended spending the summer in Germany. “My assessment is that if you look at other countries’ infections, it is probably better to go on holiday in Germany,” he said on Wednesday evening “Bild Live”. There are “wonderful goals”.
On Thursday, Söder said after a meeting of the Bavarian state cabinet that he had “quiet hope” for restaurant and hotel openings in early June. However, this is “not a fixed prospect”. Söder hopes that potential relief for restaurateurs and hotel operators from a possible strong trend towards summer vacation in Germany.
Against this background, the Bavarian state government is expecting a “fair run” on tourist and gastronomic offers within Bavaria if the corona restrictions in Germany are relaxed accordingly in summer. At the moment, citizens are still asked to generally refrain from traveling. There is a travel warning worldwide. It is unclear when the first loosening will occur.
Criticism of contradicting messages
The deputy head of the FDP parliamentary group, Michael Theurer, criticized conflicting messages from Söder and the EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. It could not be that Söder called for summer vacation in Germany and that Leyen “only advised against the current planning of summer vacation for July or August at the weekend because nobody could make reliable predictions about Corona at the moment,” said Theurer. Länder, federal government and EU commission would have to speak with one voice and “send clear and reliable signals”.
Schäuble brings shortening the summer vacation into play
Bundestag President Wolfgang Schäuble has meanwhile brought up a shortening of the summer vacation. “With a few exceptions, the schools are still closed for a while. So I wonder whether those responsible in the countries are thinking about shortening the school holidays in the summer,” said the CDU politician to the newspaper “Augsburger Allgemeine”. Such a step would give schoolchildren the opportunity to catch up on the teaching material missed by the corona pandemic.
“At the moment it is still unclear for many reasons when and how you can travel in summer,” said Schäuble. “The vacation account of many parents is likely to be already strained by the crisis.” Therefore he could understand those “who are wondering how they should organize six weeks of summer vacation there”.
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the first federal state to start the summer vacation this year on June 22nd. This will be followed by Berlin, Brandenburg and Hamburg on June 25, and North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein on June 29. The holidays in Baden-Württemberg start on July 30th.
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