Debate with SPD minister Lauterbach guaranteed: Virologist Hendrik Streeck is running for the Bundestag – for the CDU in Bonn. The constituency is steeped in history.
Bonn – He was one of the leading voices in the Corona pandemic: Hendrik Streeck. At the height of the global crisis, he was soon seen on TV talk shows every day and, as director of the Institute of Virology at the University Hospital of Bonn, explained to Germans what was and was not possible. But the scientist also wants to have a say in the future – in the Bundestag.
Corona expert in the Bundestag: Virologist Hendrik Streeck runs for the CDU in Bonn
Since Saturday (31 August), the 47-year-old has officially been a candidate for the upcoming federal election. Streeck won a vote in the Bonn district association of the CDU and received 71.7 percent of the votes. This means that he is running as the CDU's direct candidate for the Bundestag in the Bonn constituency. The CDU district chairman Christoph Jansen had to admit defeat to the virologist.
Streeck, who became one of Germany's best-known scientists through numerous media appearances during the Corona pandemic, said: “Our city needs a strong voice in Berlin again that both recognizes the challenges of our time and implements the right solutions,” he said on the social media platform X. He stressed the need to overcome the division in society, fight populism and restore trust in democratic institutions. “We are facing a choice of direction, not only for Bonn, but for all of Germany,” Streeck continued.
Hendrik Streeck: The virologist takes over Konrad Adenauer’s old constituency in Bonn
Streeck always advised a balanced approach to the virus: “One must not trivialise the virus, but also not overdramatise it,” the news agency quoted him as saying. dpaHis scientific findings and clear statements make him a sought-after expert in talk shows and news programs.
His political ambitions became known in November 2023 when he announced his candidacy for the Bundestag. The Bonn constituency in which he is running has historical significance for the CDU, as Konrad Adenauer was once elected there. In the last federal election in 2021, however, Green MP Katrin Babette Uhlig won the constituency.
Streeck against Lauterbach: SPD health minister criticized for Corona protocols
In addition to his candidacy, Streeck also recently caused a stir with his criticism of Health Minister Karl Lauterbach. According to Streeck, Lauterbach withheld important information during the Corona pandemic. “Health Minister Karl Lauterbach had promised maximum transparency in the Corona investigation. “That is why he must comment in detail on the allegations against him that arise from the Robert Koch Institute's protocols,” Streeck demands, according to a report by the Picture-Newspaper.
The allegations made by Wolfgang Kubicki, FDP vice-chairman and Vice President of the Bundestag, are serious. Kubicki demonstrated in a 13-page letter that Lauterbach did not want to lower the risk level of the pandemic in spring 2022, although scientists recommended this. “Reducing the risk from very high to high was rejected by the BMG,” the minutes say. Lauterbach died for political reasons in order to support compulsory vaccination.
Streeck stressed that these allegations could cause serious damage to both science and politics: “If the minister does not completely clear up the allegations, it would be devastating for the work of scientific institutions and political decision-makers.” He demanded that such an accusation should not be allowed to arise if Lauterbach wants to remain Minister of Health. (jkf/with dpa)
