Today we are dealing with two historic defeats: the impeachment investigation against Donald Trump and the clapping of Boris Johnson at the British Supreme Court. It is also about the presence of Iranian President Hassan Rohani in front of the UN today and the publication of the latest climate report on the Arctic.
The fight for Trump's impeachment begins
Jonathan Ernst / REUTERS
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Trio Infernal
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The Impeachment investigation against Trump comes very suddenly: it is not about the Russian affair , which occupied Washington for two years, but about a very fresh scandal: Trump is said to have called on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj in a telephone conversation on 25 July, against the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden and his son Hunter.
Now Trump wants to publish a transcript of the call to allegedly dispel the allegations. But the matter is complex: A mysterious whistleblower wants to testify before the House of Representatives and the Senate in the matter. Apparently the phone call is only part of the allegation against Trump.
Actually, Nancy Pelosi , the Democratic House spokeswoman, was always against impeachment - now she has changed her mind. She was against it, because she knows how dangerous such a process for the Democrats is: A clear majority of Americans was in surveys always against impeachment.
When the Republicans scored against Bill Clinton in 1999, the winner was Clinton in the end. The Democrats, who conquered Republican seats last year, could be very vulnerable if they voted for an unpopular dismissal. Pelosi is still missing around 50 votes in the House of Representatives - but they can start an investigation in the committees already.
Why did Pelosi change her mind? Presumably, because the Ukraine affair seems so much clearer than the Russian affair of misconduct of the President - part of the allegations he himself admitted: Biden was an issue in conversation with Selenskyj.
From today's point of view, it is practically impossible for Trump to be removed from office at the end - for that would require a two-thirds majority in the Republican-controlled Senate. Nevertheless, Pelose's decision is perhaps the decisive starting point for the 2020 presidential campaign.
- Trump in front of the UN: Kiev in the head
The "Hulk" in court
Alastair Grant / AP
The most fitting description of his self-perception has recently been delivered by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson himself: he has likened himself to the "Incredible Hulk," the cartoon character who, in her unruly rage, inflates herself into a muscle pack that can box through super powers. This was a delusion, as the Supreme Court ruling now shows - the idea of having the Queen's elected parliament just closed for five weeks so Johnson could undisturbed his idea of Brexit did not work.
After the humiliation by the court, Johnson would actually have to resign. But he obviously continues to stand for the "Hulk" and just keep going. He heads straight for a no-deal Brexit on October 31, which Parliament has already banned him by law.
A "Hulk" does not back down, he would have to be overthrown by a vote of no confidence - so the verdict of the court is indeed a milestone for the constitutionally unwritten relationship between the government and parliament, it has not made the Brexit debacle but less complicated.
- Defeat for Boris Johnson: Brussels bittersweet joy
Rohani speaks before the UN
Ludovic MARIN / AFP
The appearance of Iranian President Hassan Rohani before the UN General Assembly could have been a big show under other circumstances, but now he will probably be overshadowed by the impeachment drama surrounding Trump. Rohani interviewed Trump's Fox News channel on his visit to New York City at the UN, which is probably closest to meeting with the US president after a personal conversation between the two did not take place.
Today, Rohani wants to present his own "peace initiative" for the Strait of Hormuz. It should ensure lasting peace in the region - too much should not be expected. Not only because Iran is blamed for attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities, but also because Tehran has not played a particularly peaceful role elsewhere in the region - from Syria to Yemen.
- Statement by Merkel, Macron, Johnson: Germany blames Iran for attack in Saudi Arabia
The story of the day
Susanne Miller / US Fish and Wildlife Service / REUTERS
In the same week that the Swede Greta Thunberg appeared before the UN and caused a sensation with her emotional speech, the UN IPCC ( International Panel on Climate Change) this morning in Monaco presents its latest special report , which deals with the expected effects of global warming on oceans , Glaciers, permafrost - and the ice of the Arctic and Antarctic. French President Emmanuel Macron said in the face of the report on Tuesday in front of the United Nations in New York, dismayed. "We are absolutely shocked by the recent IPCC report, it is absolutely devastating - right now we are losing the fight."
Today, global warming, which has been around 1 percent on average since 1900, is much more noticeable on the polar ice caps: In the Arctic, it is already around three to four degrees warmer. I therefore recommend the following article, in which our reporters report from regions where residents are already directly confronted with the effects of climate change.
- Heat, drought, floods: Where the earth's hot season has already begun
Loser of the day ...
Sina Schuldt / DPA
... ... are of course primarily Trump and Johnson, but then comes the same VW Board : The prosecutor Braunschweig has VW CEO Herbert Diess, Supervisory Board chief Hans Dieter Pötsch and ex-CEO Martin Winterkorn because of their handling of the diesel scandal Accused: they are accused of market manipulation. Nevertheless, VW wants to stick to Diess and Pötsch - although the presumption of innocence, the outcome of the procedure is unclear. And yet VW now has a new problem: The scandal just will not end.
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
- The US Democrats are taking their first steps towards a possible impeachment of Donald Trump . The President reacts with counter-attacks and receives support. His opponents also speak - the reactions at a glance
- Plácido Domingo leaves New York's Met Opera : Several women accuse the starter of sexual harassment. On Wednesday he should have performed in the New York Metropolitan Opera - now Domingo explains his retreat
- Another change in the leadership of Thyssenkrupp? Theampf Board recommended that it negotiate a near-term departureiden with Guidoband Kerk polypropylene - he is only sinceürtheratzen since 2018 chief executive
The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today
- Controversial Green politician: Boris Palmer is looking for another dispute
- Wolf Biermann in an interview: "The East Germans owe nothing to the West Germans"
- President of the TU Munich on excellence: "The Brexit will bring top people"
- Money and Morality: The blood that sticks to the gold bars
- Sacha Baron Cohen in "The Spy": Transformed with skin and hair
I wish you a nice start to the day.
Your Mathieu von Rohr
