President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has dismissed as “nonsense” claims that Covid has turned Germany into a dictatorship, accusing those peddling such messages of disrespecting national “democratic institutions and the rule of law.”
Speaking on Wednesday at a discussion panel devoted to the pros and cons of mandatory Covid vaccination, Steinmeier said comments like that, which are often made by anti-lockdown activists, are an affront to “us all.”
The president called on his fellow countrymen and women to show respect for opinions that differ from their own, and also for “facts and reason,” which “must be and remain our common currency.”
Steinmeier, however, admitted that the possible introduction of a nationwide vaccine mandate should be preceded by comprehensive public debate. He stressed that while the country is faced with an exceptional situation, this does not mean decisions can be made without “weighing up arguments and balancing interests.”
Read more: President denies German dictatorship is a dictatorship
