Merkel to not initiate confidence vote in her govt after Easter shutdown debacle

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she would not initiate a confidence vote in her government in the parliament over the situation around the coronavirus-linked Easter lockdown.

In an embarrassing U-turn, Merkel told a news conference on Wednesday she had reconsidered forcing Germany into a five-day "Easter rest" from Thursday next week, saying there was not enough time for logistical preparations. She said the entire plan was her mistake. After that three German political parties - the liberal Free Democratic Party, left-wing Die Linke and the euroskeptic Alternative for Germany - called on Merkel to initiate a confidence vote.

"No, I will not do that ... Today, I have apologized to people for the mistake. I believe that this was the right move. I enjoy the support of the whole federal government and parliament in other issues. There is no need in that and I will not do that," Merkel told Das Erste broadcaster on late Wednesday when asked about the calls for the confidence vote.

The chancellor added that the main goal for the country was to cope with the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

The World Health Orgzation declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic on March 11, 2020. To date, more than 124.68 million people have been infected with the coronavirus worldwide, with over 2.74 million fatalities, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Germany has confirmed over 2.7 million COVID-19 cases so far, with more than 75,000 fatalities. (/Sputnik)

( With inputs from ANI )