“Covidiots” - Protests against Coronavirus lockdown in Germany

News coverage analysis by Taleen El Ghareeb, Staff Writer

May 26th, 2020

Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Germany has proved to be well-disciplined and effective. The country is taking the lead in flattening the curve and containing the virus relative to its other European neighbors, with around 12,700 active cases and relatively low death rate. Germany’s Robert Koch Institute (RKI) says that the country’s infection rate has dropped below key threshold. Yet despite Germany’s outstanding performance and undefeated healthcare system, ignorance still lies in its lands.

In early May, unlikely alliances have been formed and demonstrations swelled against virus lockdowns: conspiracy theorists, anti-Vaxxers, neo-Nazis and right-wing extremists have joined forces to wreak havoc in Berlin and Dortmund by infiltrating protests against lockdown measures imposed by the government. The interior ministry spokesperson described it as “an attempt to take advantage of the current situation”. Since the demonstrations took a rather violent turn, police officers were forced to detain up to 130 protestors.

The police detaining a protester wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, a symbol of defiance against the government in the name of civil rights, from fr24

More demonstrations began to sprout all over Germany, the biggest one occurred on Saturday, May 16th, with up to 3,000 protesters in Munich. However, with the newly formed alliances digging their claws deeper into the essence of the demonstrations, the balances shifted quite drastically and the reigns were snatched away with a new agenda.

Not only were protestors throwing accusations regarding the legitimacy of the virus, but a rise in anti-Semitism and prejudice against migrants was heavily influenced by right-wing extremists. Considering that a large number of the not openly right-wing population is observing and analysing the situation, the chances that they will fall into the arms of these protest hijackers are growing indefinitely, and soon they will question the government’s transparency regarding the virus.

Despite the large danger the protests pose not only in terms of health, but also manipulation of the people by right-wing radicalism, the recent movements, with a dangerous number of participants, were not detained or controlled, as they were regarded as “peaceful” in comparison to previous violent demonstrations in early May that occurred in Berlin. 

Although the government has promised to reinstate strict lockdown measures upon a surge in newly confirmed cases, could this small slip up lead to a much more serious second wave of Coronavirus than anticipated? The government seems to be relying on polls that rated the satisfaction of the population with the lockdown measures, with over 80% rating high satisfaction with Germany’s Covid-19 response.

However, several experts express their concern over the influence of right-wing extremists and conspiracy theorists on the population, as more and more people seem more involved with the protests. The government has since discussed plans in portraying more transparency in their decisions in an attempt to ease the uprisings, but researchers urge a new dynamic.

credits fr24 news

The Robert Koch Institute has published new statistics indicating a rise in the virus’s reproductive rate and diminishing the hope of the epidemic eventually dying out in Germany. Due to to the protests, infection rates have begun to slightly accelerate, and Germany’s containment of the virus now relies greatly on the BfV’s (Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution) ability to contain right-wing extremism infiltrating the demonstrations to counter intolerance and racism.

This trend is sadly not uncommon in Germany, as many Jewish and migrant communities have experienced politically motived hate crimes in the past years, and it is expected to grow if the BfV does not expand it’s capacity of countering right-wing extremism.

Despite a small number of the population taking part in these protests, they are influenced by and heavily influencing demonstrations in other countries, such as the US and UK, and they are no longer anti-lockdown protests solely, but rather politically motivated ones. Although the protests share similarities, they seem to diverge at one specific point. Demonstrations as a form of political participation is not very common in Germany due to its chaotic nature, and it seems as though people have been using these demonstrations to express political dissatisfaction rather than taking a stand against lockdown regulations.

Although the government’s polls claim that over 80% of the population is satisfied with the government’s performance fighting Covid-19, the other dissatisfied 20% still represents a whopping 16 million. 

The upcoming weeks will determine the government’s ability to contain these uprisings and maintain lockdown measures amidst the slowly accelerating number of infections. The newly growing concern of many elements of the German government is not fighting a second wave, but controlling the demonstrations and ensuring that they do not become a trend.