1.
The home bureaucracy
The whole pandemic sometimes feels like a very long day in the
home office
, the return of the same
thing over
and over again.
What will happen next with daycare centers and schools, with the vaccination appointments and the FFP2 masks?
Part of the routine after always new shutdown decisions: Get an overview (here) of what exactly applies in your own state.
Then reorganize family life, postpone appointments, talk to colleagues, friends and relatives: How do we continue?
Icon: enlarge
Home office from the Symbolbildkeller, selected in home work
Photo: Fabian Strauch / dpa
After all, when it comes to home office, the Chancellor and the country leaders did not stop at appeals this time - there has been a regulation since today so that more people can finally stay at home and no longer commute unnecessarily to the office.
My colleague Florian Diekmann, himself annoyed after three months of homeschooling in a rather small apartment, still speaks of the
"pretty softest regulation"
.
"A real duty to work from home in the office - for both employees and employers - is probably quite tricky from a legal point of view," he says.
“But the decision is also so soft because politics wants to restrict the economy as little as possible.
On the one hand, understandable after the deep slump in the first shutdown.
On the other hand, a real duty could help shorten the shutdown, which would probably help the economy even more. "
You can read the whole comment here: Why the latest home office decision is unlikely to change much
2.
Big words
Joe Biden's
term of office has
just
begun, he has taken the oath on the constitution and called for the unity of the country in his speech.
"Not every disagreement has to be a cause for total war," he warned.
"I'll be the President of all Americans." Hearing this feels like detox breakfast after a night of partying - only that the Trump escapade lasted four years.
So now detox.
Icon: enlargePhoto:
SAUL LOEB / POOL / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
Was it a successful speech?
This requires comparative figures.
I asked past and current US correspondents whose inaugural address impressed them most.
The selection:
“We are not enemies, but friends.
We must not be enemies.
Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. "
Abraham Lincoln, 1861 - Sebastian Fischer says:" By the time Lincoln took over the presidency, seven southern states had already left the union and Jefferson Davis had been installed as the 'president' of their confederation.
The civil war was imminent.
So 1861 is not comparable to 2021. Nonetheless, Lincoln's words seem strangely topical.
Because they are aimed at a divided nation.
And what always touches me politically when I read these few sentences by this literary president is the appeal to humanity, to the good in people, to the ›better angels of our nature‹.
That gives hope.
For America and for us. "
Icon: enlargePhoto: CHUCK KENNEDY / AFP
"Ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country."
John F. Kennedy, 1961 - Markus Feldenkirchen thinks: "Inaugural speeches are overrated and rarely do anything stick.
In this respect, Kennedy has at least cut a sentence that is still often quoted today and has made it into all political poetry albums.
For the USA, the sentence was certainly appropriate at the time.
For me personally he is too nationalistic from today's perspective.
I would replace “your country” with “your fellow man” these days.
Then it also fits into the present day. "
“We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom.”
John F. Kennedy, 1961 - Alex Sarovic thinks: “It is a reminder of what elections are primarily: not a competition, but an act, with where democracy is kept alive.
It will take a long time to repair the damage Trump's attempt to hide his defeat has done to American democracy. "
“Government is not the solution to our problem;
Government is the problem. "
Ronald Reagan, 1982 - Ines Zöttl writes:" Because he succeeded in condensing an economic doctrine in one sentence that is still having an impact today. "
“There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America.”
Bill Clinton, 1993 - Alexander Osang writes: “I drove to Washington for four and a half hours in an old Chevy with a few fellow students from Duke University to be there when everything starts afresh.
So we thought.
After the endless Reagan and Bush years.
I stood there in the cold, listening to Jack Nicholson, Fleetwood Mac, Aretha Franklin and Maya Angelou.
It was unreally beautiful.
In my memory everyone who was there is smiling.
At some point Clinton said this sentence.
I am no longer sure whether it is really true.
But at the time I thought: That's exactly how it is. "
Icon: enlargePhoto: CHUCK KENNEDY / AFP
“I thank President Bush for his service to our nation.”
Barack Obama, 2009 - Roland Nelles says: “The speech is a reminder of how handovers should actually take place in a democracy, respectfully, peacefully, with a sense of the political opponent is not a mortal enemy, just takes a different opinion.
Donald Trump didn't understand any of this, which is why it's a good thing he's finally gone. "
Marc Pitzke remembers the same speech he witnessed on the National Mall "in the midst of a million howling Americans": "Never before - and never since - have I found America better.
Everything was fine, even if only for one day!
Bonus: Aretha Franklin's fantastic diva hat when she sang "My Country, 'Tis of Thee," America's first moving national anthem. "
“Power is a lot like real estate, remember?”
Frank Underwood, 2014 - Ralf Neukirch says: “The best inauguration address is when the 46th US President Frank Underwood addresses his audience in“ House of Cards ”because Kevin In 2014, Spacey anticipated in a minute and a half everything that has plagued America in the past four years. "
“America wants to start winning again, winning like never before.”
Donald Trump, 2017 - René Pfister says: “You have to give Trump one thing: he didn't let his office bend him.
On his first day in office he remained the loudmouth he was all his life. "
My colleague Alexandra Rojkov does not think first of the speech of an election winner, but of that of the loser John McCain in 2008:
“This is an historic election, and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight. "
Alexandra says:" Although you can see the pain of the loser, he not only manages to congratulate Obama with moving words.
He also recognizes how significant his victory must be for blacks in America.
It's hard to imagine that Trump could ever say something like that. "
That's right, Trump remained true to himself in parting.
He praised himself, his government, his family - and announced:
"Our movement is only just beginning."
Perhaps the political detox program will have to wait a little longer, the impeachment process is still ongoing.
Follow Biden's inauguration and celebrations live here
More background here: Joe Biden now has to solve these six problems
3.
Black and yellow
Quickly to the sport: "Mentality, body language, will to win - when
Borussia Dortmund
loses, the same conclusions are always drawn" analyzes my colleague Markus Krämer.
"But they fall short: BVB slows itself down with its club policy."
Read more here: Why BVB has no chance in the championship race
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What else is important today
Baerbock accuses Laschet of closeness to Russia:
Armin Laschet will soon also be officially the CDU leader - the Greens are already harshly criticizing him.
Party leader Annalena Baerbock diagnosed a lack of foreign policy orientation in SPIEGEL.
Kabinett decides to deposit a deposit for to-go orders:
restaurants and cafes will have to offer take-away food and drinks in reusable packaging.
In addition, the mandatory deposit for one-way bottles will be expanded.
Trial against Navalny in Russia postponed:
Alexei Navalny was supposed to be heard in court in Moscow on Wednesday.
But after his arrival in Russia, the detained opponent of the Kremlin is still in quarantine.
DAX companies are a little less male-dominated:
The largest listed companies in Germany have appointed more women to the board than ever before.
A recent study shows, however, that there is still a long way to go to parity.
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL +
How to reduce the risk of infection in closed rooms:
What is the best way to protect yourself from infection?
And what conditions cannot the coronavirus suffer?
Aerosol researcher Alfred Wiedensohler has advice.
"The regime has its back to the wall":
A new social movement is putting pressure on the government in Havana.
The writer and opponent of the regime, Carlos Manuel Álvarez, analyzes the weakness of the rulers and the prospects for change in Cuba.
"I look at your face and know that it has to be this person":
the policeman Andy Pope has already recognized more than 2000 criminals.
How does he do that?
And how can you find out if you have this special gift?
Which is not so important today
Icon: enlarge
We've come so far
Photo:
Isa Foltin / Getty Images
Never Forget:
Gary Barlow
, 50, who became world famous as a boy band singer, has his birthday today.
My colleague Anja Rützel congratulates and thinks: "Against all pop-cultural chances, he is now an even bigger pop star than in the mid-1990s, when he and Take That reached number one in the British charts with seven singles in a row."
Typo of the day
, now corrected: "The fact that dealing with schools in the group of heads of government is one of the most sensitive items on the agenda has already been observed at earlier meetings of the mini-presidents' conference."
Cartoon of the day:
breathing
Icon: enlargePhoto:
Klaus Stuttmann
And tonight?
Icon: enlarge
Girl leader
Photo:
NDR / Michael Ihle
Could you watch
»Sörensen hat Angst«
in the first, in which Bjarne Mädel (known from »Stromberg«, »Tatortreiniger« and »Mord mit Aussicht«) not only plays the leading role, but also directed it for the first time.
"This film manages to tell about provincial mustiness, bad food and common crimes at the same time deadly serious and brutally comical - with surprising twists and turns and magnificently laid-out, creepy star actors, among whom Matthias Brandt is the greatest," says my colleague Wolfgang Höbel.
(You can read his review here, you can find the film in the media library here. And it runs on linear television at 8.45pm.)
A lovely evening.
Sincerely,
Oliver Trenkamp
Here you can order the "Lage am Abend" by email.