Germany’s coronavirus protests are a big headache for Merkel

Where Brits have voiced their opposition to the coronavirus lockdown, they’ve mostly done so from their own homes over the internet. But some Germans who are unhappy at the restrictions imposed to thwart the spread of the virus are adopting a more radical approach.

Demonstrators gathered in Munich, Stuttgart and other German cities last Saturday to protest coronavirus-related measures. Now these rallies look set to become just the beginning of a wave of protests demanding the lifting of coronavirus restrictions. 

It’s true that other countries around the world look to Germany, which has done well in managing the current crisis, as a model of best practice. Yet plenty of people here are unhappy with the continuation of lockdown measures. The country’s state and local governments have started to ease these restrictions a few weeks ago and promised that even restaurants and public swimming pools, where researchers fear the virus could spread quite easily, will be allowed to re-open soon.