The SPD member of the Bundestag Daniel Rinkert, member of the Enquete Commission for the Reappraisal of the Corona Pandemic, calls for clear responsibilities, transparent decision-making structures and better involvement of municipalities in future crises. With a view to the meeting of the commission on 26 February 2026 on the topic of “Federal Crisis Management, Crisis Teams”, he draws a differentiated balance of the federal system in the pandemic.

The Corona crisis has subjected German federalism to a tough stress test, Rinkert explained. The federal, state and local governments would have had to make and implement far-reaching decisions in the shortest possible time. It has been shown that the multi-level system is basically efficient, but at the same time has also revealed weaknesses in coordination and coordination.

The high pressure was particularly noticeable at the municipal level. Cities and districts had acted as the “face of the measures on the ground”, had taken responsibility, explained and enforced decisions. However, those who bear responsibility must also be structurally appropriately integrated, the specialist politician stressed. Greater consideration of municipalities in crisis teams and decision-making processes is therefore a central lesson.

Rinkert also looked at the coordination mechanisms between the federal and state governments. He asked what role formats such as the Minister-Presidents’ Conference had actually played and how decision-making processes had been organised. Transparency, clear responsibilities and a clear attribution of responsibility are indispensable prerequisites for the democratic legitimacy of state action – especially in exceptional situations.

It is not a matter of a retrospective evaluation of individual measures, but of structural consequences for the future, Rinkert underlined. How could crisis teams be better interlinked? How can the ability to act in crises be reconciled with democratic control and publicity? Both are not a contradiction, but together the basis for trust in the state.

The Bundestag’s Enquete Commission is dealing with the reappraisal of the pandemic in order to draw lessons for future crises. The meeting on 26 February 2026 will be dedicated specifically to federal crisis management and the role of crisis teams.

Editor: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

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