Election looms in Germany: Berlin split over vaccine strategy

Berlin: With Covid-19 infections rising and vaccinations grinding to a halt, Germany’s inoculation campaign is threatening to become a political hot potato just two months ahead of a general election.

Unlike other European countries such as France and Greece, Germany has so far ruled out introducing compulsory jabs for certain parts of the population. But Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff Helge Braun caused a storm at the weekend by suggesting that "vaccinated people will definitely have more freedom than unvaccinated people" if case numbers rise again in the autumn.

This could mean they are not allowed to access restaurants, sports venues or other facilities, for example -- even if they can provide a recent negative test. Government spokeswoman Ulrike Demmer has insisted that mandatory vaccines will not be introduced through so-called "back door" measures restricting the unvaccinated.

But she also said the government would do "everything to avoid a situation like the one we saw in spring" and said that in the event of further exponential virus growth, "we will have to take further measures".