Nrestart? New status? The devastating flood was also an ordeal for those who demanded reforms to the heads and members of our community. One thing is clear: if the system should fail, it must be updated. But even everyone who believes that federal organizations are irresponsible must first prove how much the federal state has failed in the fight against the current disaster—and what the central state will do better.
It is also clear: you must live in a federal system. To do this, you must understand it. Or become obscure? But you can’t actually talk about federalism anymore. After all, this is a vertical form of separation of powers, basically about specifying responsibilities, at least in the ideal case. As with the principle of subsidiarity, if the problem is not large enough to be better resolved at a higher level, then it makes sense for the local community to take responsibility first.
Who is in charge?
This also applies to civil protection. In principle, the federal state and municipal governments are responsible.But in the event of a major accident, not only can the federal government ask for help, the federal government can also deal with it on its own, such as Armed forces send. The existence of the European Flood Warning System, the German Meteorological Agency and the flood control centers of the federal states does not automatically mean that the various agencies hinder each other. The poor appearance of the Federal Ministry of Transport cannot even explain the obvious problems of interaction with the European level. It is responsible for this, but hopefully it is not a symptom.
It is vital that warnings must reach where they need to be heard quickly. Last year’s Federal Warning Day ended in failure. This not only shows that there is a lack of good old sirens that can at least wake up everyone who can hear them, and clearly warn of imminent dangers without further understanding, but also modern crisis communication. Letters warning may Will arrive sooner. People are now considering sending warning text messages to all possible recipients in the event of a disaster, which is good. This already exists in other countries—a precise description of the endangered area and instructions for what needs to be done.
On the other hand, in Germany, the desperate number situation has spent precious time in the first stage of the new crown pandemic and brought unnecessary restrictions. This is also evident in flood disasters. Of course, the same should be true of the joint crisis team’s immediate involvement in a transnational situation.
Every Tuesday
Federalism does not mean shirking each other’s responsibilities, but it does not mean that everyone boldly claims that they have done everything right. Even if this is true in itself, people cannot know this with certainty immediately after the disaster, but the quick self-praise in the face of the many dead is not worthwhile. The Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance corrected at least the first complete statement.
Collaborate effectively
The federal and state governments have shown in many crises that they can basically cooperate effectively. One can check whether the federal government must provide a framework, not only in wars (how are we truly protected at that time?), but also in disasters (which is still the end of the world for those affected). Not only because of the victims, but also because hundreds of thousands of people volunteered to help exhausted. There was no wasted effort. All government departments worked together and there was no friction loss.
Unfortunately, many years ago, the great fear of nuclear war was replaced by some degree of carelessness, and so was the state. Although the vulnerability of society has actually increased, disaster preparedness and crisis prevention are in lower case. Hacking attacks can usually paralyze any government agency, including electricity and water. How many days does anyone have water supply?
There is absolutely no reason to worry too much, or even become a crazy preparer, using his supplies and weapons to cover in the event of a safe anticipated disaster. But everyone should ask questions about what to do and how to prepare in an emergency-preferably based on technical and status information. At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, the World Championships hoarded toilet paper, a non-essential commodity that has never threatened scarcity, which shows that many people have forgotten what is really important. It actually needs to be restarted here.
