German measures will allow for a family Christmas | Interview with Saarland Premier Tobias Hans

New measures to fight the coronavirus in Germany would be sufficient to push back the number of infections and to allow Germans to have a family Christmas, Tobias Hans, Premier of the Federal State of Saarland, said in a DW-Interview on Friday in Berlin. "I'm sure that we can flatten the curve," he said. While Germany was still recording a high number of infections, compared to other countries in Europe and the world it was doing well, he said. "That makes me very optimistic that we can handle it," the CDU-politician said.

As a regular participant of consultations between the central government of Chancellor Angela Merkel and the premiers of Germany's 16 Federal States, Hans observed a changing mood amongst his colleagues. Initially, Eastern regions in Germany had been less severely affected and "were not that concerned," he said. That had now changed with increasing infection rates in those regions as well. "The situation in  hospitals across Germany has changed a lot for the worse," the 42-year-old said.

Hans praised Angela Merkel's capacity for dialogue and negotiation. "That is something very rarely found among world leaders that have been in office for such a long time, and I really appreciate that capability of hers," he said. "Angela Merkel is a great leader."

Hans added that he and his family would be celebrating a quiet Christmas, since his wife was expecting their third child: "My utmost goal is to keep the family safe. That is why we won't meet up with too many people."

Tobias Hans, whose father was also a politician, has been premier of Saarland Federal State since 2018. He is regarded as one of the younger rising stars of Merkel's CDU. Hans was speaking to DW-correspondent Nina Haase.