Today we deal with the late insight of the interior ministers, take the terror of a new election, present a booklet of memory and warn Julia Klöckner in front of a mare.
Threat right-wing extremism
Caroline Seidel / DPA
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Today the conference of the German interior ministers starts in Lübeck. The agenda shows that we still understood what the threat is right-wing extremism.
ITEM 2: Intensification and expansion of measures to combat right-wing extremism / anti-Semitism in Germany
TOP 3: Risk Assessment / Uniform Handling of Lists of Political Opponents
TOP 6: Measures to strengthen the processing of right-wing extremism in the constitution protection association
TOP 7: Dealing with the constitutional protection authorities with right-wing extremist efforts on the Internet, especially with regard to the processing in the countries
Unfortunately, the insight comes a little late, after the attacks on the politician Walter Lübcke and a synagogue in Halle an der Saale.
- Case Walter Lübcke: Politics and authorities downplay the danger of right-wing extremists
Dangerous risk
Gregor Fischer / DPA
Let's approach the topic of new elections once sober and fearless. What did we experience with this grand coalition? Would it be better or worse after that?
We have experienced dispute without end , CDU against CSU, CDU against CDU, CSU against CSU, CDU against SPD, SPD against SPD. Worn or damaged were the top politicians Andrea Nahles, Olaf Scholz, Horst Seehofer, Angela Merkel, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer. CDU and SPD still have open questions of power, the internal dispute will continue.
We have experienced a largely effective government . Climate package, ground rent and much more. In foreign policy, however, there are hardly any impulses.
The Grand Coalition will only continue if the SPD pushes through new demands. If you succeed, the right wing of the Union will revolt. CDU / CSU against SPD, CDU against CDU, that goes into new rounds. The ordering power of the Chancellor will continue to crumble as the election date approaches. Maybe one or the other legislative package will succeed, but much will not come any more. End time up two.
Now to the risks of a new election:
Angela Merkel's career would be over, after 14 years, that is also a relief.
Voters could cause a difficult outcome. First, the Bundestag could be so fragmented that it is difficult or impossible to form a government, as in Thuringia. However, according to recent surveys, the Union and the Greens have a clear majority. Second, the AfD continues to grow. Currently, it stands at 13 to 15 percent, just over the result of the last election. That would be to endure.
It is impossible to predict election results, but at the moment the risk seems bearable. Instead of the eternal final phase Merkel a departure could be possible. The CDU and SPD would need to quickly resolve their open power issues, rather than spending the whole of next year perhaps. And there is the chance of a coalition in which the partners are in the mood for common politics. That weighs the risks.
- New SPD tip: Why the Union clings to the GroKo
Amazing and terrifying
From today you can look back on the year 2019, because it appears the SPIEGEL CHRONICLE, our annual review, which bears this subtitle: "Triumphs, crises, riots - The year of protest". My colleague Martin Wolf has composed an exciting magazine. One of the highlights is a conversation with Lord Michael Dobbs , the inventor of "House of Cards," who talks extensively about Brexit and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson .
For me, leafing through the amazing, but also terrifying, what I have already forgotten everything. The fire of Notre Dame, was that really 2019? Carola Rackete , a political star from this year? It must have been that way when it's in CHRONICLE. You can count on Martin Wolf.
Winner of the day ...
Kay Nietfeld / dpa
... is Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner . In my youth in Essen there were always stewards in the bakeries for St Martin, little men of sweet dough, who looked lovingly at them with raisin eyes, as if they could thus avoid being devoured. No chance.
The mare had a white whistle made of clay, the flavor of which I remember well, because of course we tried to nibble the last corner of the pastry from the pipe. I also remember the sound that my teeth made on the whistle. For me, the mare is a combination of homeliness and horror.
Today, Julia Klöckner has the pleasure of receiving the Grand Stutenkerl. The Bäckerinnungsverband Westfalen-Lippe awards for "dialogue-oriented politics". I do not know how big the Grosse Stutenkerl is, but should Julia Klöckner get to the whistle, I would recommend her restraint. Otherwise she will still be the loser 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
- Suppression of the Uighurs: US Congress calls for sanctions against China. Of course, that does not go down well in Beijing
- Kevin Kühnert warns the SPD: "Who leaves a coalition, gives a part of the control from the hand," said the Juso boss
- Alleged IS supporter arrested in Germany: Turkey had deported Lorin I. The police were waiting at Frankfurt airport
The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today
- Kevin Kühnert and the party presidency: How the Juso boss shreds the SPD
- France before the general strike: Is President Macron shaking?
- Climate activist Greta Thunberg: The disturbing girl
- Psychiatrist on the key witness to the Reichstag fire: "This was probably an expression of brain damage"
I wish you a good start to the day.
Your Dirk Kurbjuweit