Merkel's concern
The Chancellor is concerned - this concern penetrates all committees and rounds in which she speaks, it is the concern that the country has become too careless in the fight against Corona.
Angela Merkel
firmly expects that the
number of new infections will increase massively
if people do not stick to the rules more strictly.
She
is said to have spoken of
more than
19,000 new infections per day at Christmas
, they are apocalyptic scenarios.
Icon: enlarge
Angela Merkel
Photo: HAYOUNG JEON / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
Merkel has absolutely no understanding, as was also evident in many rounds, that people are coming together more carefree, that they are celebrating again and forgetting to keep their distance.
She is a scientist, she sees the skyrocketing numbers in Germany's neighboring countries.
She sees no rational reason why Germany should be spared this explosion if nothing changes in the behavior of Germans.
You can really celebrate again when the vaccine is available.
Such is their way of thinking.
Angela Merkel will continue to issue warnings, even today at 2 p.m., when she communicates with the
prime ministers of the federal states
.
She will then have the Bavarian Prime Minister
Markus Söder
at her side, who is pushing for nationwide rules, for example on the question of how private celebrations should be regulated.
Advisors to the federal government also recommend such rules, in several stages, depending on the infection situation.
If the number of new infections per 100,000 inhabitants in an area exceeds 50 within seven days, then the highest level would have been reached, then the mask requirement would have to apply everywhere, including outdoors, except at the table in the restaurant and in your own apartment, and then no more than ten people should meet at once.
The discussion is likely to be difficult, as the preliminary talks for today's video conference showed.
One could hardly agree on uniform lines, one argued about the meaning of
alcohol bans
and the question of whether the
restriction of private celebrations is
constitutionally permissible.
A resolution proposal recommends upper limits for private celebrations, but the issuing of corresponding regulations and the number of participants should therefore be at the discretion of the federal states.
It is sure to be a lively debate anyway
.
And it will probably be the last of these rounds in which Markus Söder can stage himself as chairman of the conference of prime ministers.
He has to hand over the office as scheduled, he is succeeded by the Governing Mayor of Berlin,
Michael Müller
- of all places, Berlin, which was more of a school slouch than the best in class in the fight against pandemics.
Recently, Merkel had repeatedly pointed out the high number of infections in some districts of the capital.
"Something has to happen in Berlin," the Chancellor is said to have said in a video conference of the CDU Presidium.
A kick against the future negotiating partner couldn't be more accurate.
Germany: Merkel fears a sharp increase in the number of infections
Trump's tricks
US President
Donald Trump
paid that
much income tax
in 2016 and 2017, in some cases none at all in previous years.
An anti-social millionaire who for years exploited the system in his favor - the system he now heads.
One would think that this revelation by the
"New York Times"
should be enough to convince Donald Trump to resign, that a democracy would no longer tolerate such a figure at its head, that people would turn away in horror from the one they hitherto admired to have.
Hope will simply not come true because Trump
got rid of the affair
with two simple words
:
fake news
.
Fake news, now also his followers say, which Real News has long since ceased to penetrate.
How even if some of these supporters even believe that there is a
political
elite
in
Washington
who locks up children, abuses them and drinks their blood when an
absurd conspiracy theory like QAnon
can penetrate the masses?
Icon: enlarge
Donald Trump
Photo: Evan Vucci / dpa
So what do these revelations do, how functional is
democratic self-purification in the United States
?
Shed light on likely
the first of three TV duels
between Trump and his Democratic challenger
Joe Biden
give today by 21 am local time in
Cleveland in Ohio
begins and will last 90 minutes.
Will Trump show weakness, for example on the question of taxes?
Much more important then: How do his followers react to possible weaknesses?
With distance, with empathy or not at all?
Starting at 3 a.m. today, we will have an idea of the influence that revelations still have.
Harmless versus shameless: is Biden too weak to beat Trump?
Erdoğan's power
An ancient conflict has flared up again, between
Armenia and Azerbaijan
, it is about
Nagorno-Karabakh
, a predominantly Armenian-populated region on Azerbaijani territory whose declaration of independence has never been recognized internationally.
The dispute simmered for decades, but a few weeks ago it came to a head, most recently heavy artillery, drones and tanks were used, why suddenly the escalation?
Historically, Azerbaijan has always had close ties to
Turkey
, just like Christian Armenia to
Russia
, writes my colleague
Christian Esch
in his analysis of the conflict.
Ankara used to act cautiously out of consideration for Russia.
Icon: enlarge
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Photo: - / Turkish Presidency / AP / dpa
The restraint is now over.
While Russia continues to rely on diplomacy and compromise, Ankara wants to show its solidarity to Turkish-speaking countries in the region and prove its leadership role.
The aggressive course fits in with the recent Turkish foreign policy, it is
self-confident to brutal
, the
conflict over Syria
has shown it, rival initially also there: Russia.
Both countries are expanding their power interests and developing dangerous potential for Europe.
And Europe?
As is so often the case, it is at a loss how to react to the new conflict.
The EU and the federal government called for the obvious.
First a truce.
Turkey in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: And again Erdoğan
Loser of the day ...
... is
Alexander Gauland
.
The AfD parliamentary group leader had a press spokesman for a long time, whose true ways of thinking have now been
revealed
via
secretly recorded television recordings by the station ProSieben
.
As the
"Zeit"
revealed, the press spokesman at the time said in these recordings, when asked by a blogger whether he was actually in favor of letting more migrants into the country: "Yes. Because then the AfD will be better. We can always do them afterwards still shoot them all. That's not an issue at all. Or gas, or whatever you want. I don't care! "
Icon: enlarge
Alexander Gauland
Photo: imago images / Christian Spicker
The parliamentary group's executive board decided yesterday
to dismiss
their
employees without notice
.
Gauland described the man's words as "unacceptable".
But how credible is Gauland's horror?
Why did he ever hire the man?
And why was the extremely right attitude of his former speaker hidden from him before this scandal?
It is not the first extremist in the AfD ranks who, at least temporarily, maintained close proximity to the parliamentary group leader.
Also
Andreas Kalbitz
, the former Brandenburg state leader, stood by Gauland at a premium, even after he was expelled from the party.
Alexander Gauland apparently attracts the extremes of his party.
Or the other way around.
ProSieben documentary "Right. German. Radical": Just listen to right-wing extremists
The latest news from the night
The Supreme Court removes Catalonia's regional boss Torra:
A commission had already ordered his removal in January, but Catalonia's regional president Quim Torra exhausted all legal means.
His deputy could call new elections immediately
Death of Breonna Taylor - Accused Police Officer Pleads Not Guilty
: After Breonna Taylor died in a police operation, only one of the three officers involved was charged.
He has now also pleaded innocent in the Jefferson County District Court
Home versus Arsenal?
A sure-fire
success
for top English clubs:
Although Liverpool were behind against Arsenal, the English champions had few problems.
A summer addition met with Diogo Jota.
For the Gunners, an away trip to the "Big Six" is no longer worthwhile
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I wish you a good morning!
Your Martin Knobbe