Two days before self-isolating, Bettel took the time to respond to some of the criticisms his government has faced since the second wave hit the country and the partial lockdown was announced.
After being considered one of the pioneering countries in the fight against the coronavirus during the early days of the crisis, Luxembourg has since become one of the most severely affected. Was the severity of the second wave predictable? Did the country not have a sound pandemic plan going into it? These questions were met with some irritation by the Prime Minister: "Of course we have plans for pandemics, for floods, for terrorist attacks, but in the case of a pandemic, these plans are highly variable."
He admitted that the virulence of the health crisis had taken them by surprise and that decision-makers could not necessarily foresee "how it would evolve". "This crisis has hit with full force throughout the world", he adds.
The Prime Minister explained that the government was, at times, forced to "manage" the crisis, but that the country still succeeded in anticipating some needs. He cited the example of large scale testing: "We are not waiting for people to show symptoms [...] we are getting to them as quickly as possible."
The Prime Minister stressed that his government has taken "sound decisions" in light of the information they had available at any time during the crisis. He decried those who "want to close everything down", saying that "these are individual liberties we are talking about here". Beyond mere economic consequences, there was also a "psychological" price to pay when opting for such strict measures.
He underlined that "every individual has had their liberties restricted" and that this situation "has already gone on too long", mentioning young people who "have been deprived of their youth" and old people whom "some would like to lock away". These are difficult times, but they "should not make us lose hope", he said.
The arrival of the vaccine signals "the light at the end of the tunnel" for many. This view is shared by the Prime Minister, who stressed, however, that "not everyone will be vaccinated overnight", and we must not abandon other health measures too soon. There are "difficult months" ahead of us, during which the public will have to be convinced that "the vaccine is one further step towards the end" of the crisis, but not the only one.
"These will be months of reconstruction", he explained, warning that the financial aid granted by the government has resulted in "a huge, but necessary debt". According to Xavier Bettel, "not investing in the economy" would have amounted to leaving "a graveyard to future generations." He made the choice of "investing now rather than having to rebuild everything" later.
But will the government aid be sufficient to save businesses hit by the closures the government imposed nearly a month ago? The votes on the law on non-covered costs and the extension on requests for partial unemployment this past Thursday were definitely a step in the right direction. The Prime Minister, for his part, has promised that his government will "do everything" it can to limit the economic impact of the crisis.
Finally, Xavier Bettel wanted to share a message about the current health measures: "There is no magic formula. We have to work together to overcome this crisis. Liberties are important, life is important... We must be able to live, while still respecting every individual and taking responsibility for others, especially the most vulnerable in our society."
This is something to keep in mind as we approach the festive season, which will take place under the same restrictions we have lived through for nearly a month.
