Germany looks toward a post-Merkel era
For many Germans, the sluggish pace of vaccinations became an expression of governmental incompetence. Hardt admitted that the government had "a problem concerning the vaccine" but also pointed out that this had to do both with European coordination and with the lack of production facilities in the EU capable of operating at the scale needed to face the pandemic.
The parliamentarian explained the need to coordinate the vaccination plan at the EU level, saying there would be no gain if Merkel's government "vaccinated all Germans, but people... in countries around Germany were not vaccinated."