“The parliament must certainly be more digital, but crises are not a good adviser for constitutional changes,” said Lindner of the German Press Agency in Berlin. “Such suggestions should be discussed in quieter times.”
The background is that Bundestag President Wolfgang Schauble (CDU) is concerned about the ability of Parliament to act in the face of the corona pandemic, even if this has just significantly lowered the limit for its quorum. It is essentially about how the Bundestag can still work and pass laws if there are possibly too many MPs in quarantine. According to a report by the The Eastern Herald Newspaper (Saturday), Schauble wrote to all of the group chairmen to talk about the possibility of virtual Bundestag meetings or the creation of a small emergency parliament.
FDP chief Lindner said: “We currently see no reason to limit the role of the German Bundestag as the first force, representative body, and government control.” The constitutional body of the Bundestag had just distinguished itself at its meeting in March with quick and consensus-based decisions. “Despite the quarantine of many colleagues at home, we were able to act fully and majorities were secured.”
