today we are dealing with old and new climate politics, with a green rage citizen, with a time travel to the Maasai and with Assad's dull friends.
Much known, little done
Britta Pedersen / zb / DPA
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Issue 38/2019
Our contribution to climate protection
Damned but coveted: The SUV - symbol for the German double standardDigital Edition | Printed issues | Apps | SUBSCRIPTION
Today's climate is about missed opportunities and a new opportunity. In Bonn, the former Federal Environment Minister Klaus Töpfer is awarded the State Prize NRW. Töpfer saw the drama of the climate crisis coming in the nineties. In background discussions, he could clearly state what threatens and what to do about it. But he did not have the strength to enforce this policy with Helmut Kohl .
The laudatory speech is given by German Chancellor Angela Merkel , who also saw the problems at an early stage, but did little about them - first as Minister of the Environment under Kohl, then as Federal Chancellor under no one, which is more difficult.
Today, the CDU is expected to present its climate concept. On Friday, the government wants to agree on a program. A new opportunity that should not be missed.
- Climate package of the Federal Government: Decision on the last push
It greens so green
Daniel Maurer / DPA
If Boris Johnson's face turns green today at lunch with Jean-Claude Juncker in Luxembourg, it may have two causes:
Johnson has been tempted by Juncker to drink too many gin and tonic (has happened to me already).
Johnson is actually like the prominent rage citizen Hulk , as he asserted in an interview over the weekend, so turns green when the anger rises in him.
Anyway, it's an old dream of politics that two men (like women) sit down, talk to each other, and find a solution. Just as Kohl and Gorbachev once did in terms of reunification or Tsar Alexander I and Napoleon at Tilsit, where they negotiated a peace.
Decisive here are the two adjectives. Cozy: That's with Johnson. Sensible: He has gone far, far away.
- Brexit-Chaos: What Boris Johnson Can Do Now
Giraffes and luxury consumption
DPA
On Saturday morning in Tanzania I drove through the area of Maasai. Savannah, round villages with huts of clay and cow dung, herds of goats guarded by children in red robes, giraffes in between. The driver said that among the Maasai, the number of wives could depend on the number of cows. A strange world. You probably did not live much differently here 1000 years ago.
About 30 hours later, I waited in the transit zone of Istanbul airport for the connecting flight to Berlin. 1000 years in 30 hours, you can not quite go with it. The Transit Zone is a gigantic luxury consumption temple, where you can buy things out of boredom that you do not need, food that you do not crave.
What would a Maasai say about that? And what was the definition of progress again ?
- From the one-day archive: How German colonialism has shaped Tanzania
Loser of the day ...
Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP
... there are probably three today. In Ankara, the authoritarian rulers of Turkey, Russia and Iran, Erdogan, Putin and Rohani meet to discuss the situation in Syria. The West is often criticized in this matter, and quite rightly so. He did not bother enough to end the civil war.
But with these three gentlemen it is even worse. It would be in their power to withdraw the Syrian despot Assad and give a chance to a post-war order. But they have not been interested in that. Sometimes they block Assad, then give him more room to move on. The killing goes on and on.
Should that change today, they will immediately be my winners of the day.
The compact news overview in the morning: current and opinionated. Every morning (weekdays) at 6 o'clock. Order directly here:
The latest news from the night
- Donald Trump threatens to retaliate: After the attacks on oil installations in Saudi Arabia, the US President believes that he knows the culprits.
- Boris Johnson still believes in Brexit deal: The British PM travels to Luxembourg. But how realistic is his announcement before the trip?
- Andreas Scheuer attacks Cem Özdemir on "Anne Will": It was about the proximity to the German car industry - and the sound became rough
The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today
- Physicians on smartphone addiction among adolescents: "gambling, eating, school skipping"
- Austria's ex-chancellor Sebastian Kurz in an interview: "Have I been disgusted by isolated cases and missteps?"
- Editorial: Merkel at a slow pace
- Plastic alternatives: The fairy tale of the eco-friendly bamboo mug
- Tinder's European boss: "For the Germans, the most popular time is on Mondays at 8 pm"
I wish you a nice start to the day.
Your Dirk Kurbjuweit