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The situation on Saturday: The torn kingdom

2019-12-21T04:29:19.529Z


Today we are concerned with the question of how parents and children in the family fight their differences on the issue of climate, why Brexit could pose existential problems for the United Kingdom and why it is so difficult to defend the rights ...



Today we are concerned with how parents and children in the family fight their differences on the issue of climate, why Brexit could pose existential problems for the United Kingdom and why it is so difficult to strengthen children's rights.

The climate and the family

Scott Heins / AFP

More on this in SPIEGEL

Issue 52/2019

The heroes of the Bible

How much truth is there in the stories of David and Goliath, Solomon and Moses?

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Political Berlin said goodbye to the public holidays yesterday, the Bundestag and Bundesrat held their last meetings . The climate protection package was also approved in the morning; it was perhaps one of the most important decisions of the year. It was not only important because the climate package should create the basis for Germany to reduce its CO2 emissions and achieve its self-imposed climate targets . It was also significant because it shows how the process of finding a political compromise works.

All parties involved are dissatisfied with the CO2 price now being negotiated because it differs from their original ideas. At the same time, they are satisfied because they notice that the others are also dissatisfied. This is called a compromise.

However , there will be many among the boys who disagree with this result. They accuse the elders, who have found this compromise, not to do enough to save the world. They therefore perceive the climate protection package, which they see as half-hearted, as a personal attack .

This conflict also takes place within families , between children and parents, between young and old.

My colleague Susanne Beyer, mother of two daughters, describes in SPIEGEL how the climate debate affects her family life and how difficult it is to live more environmentally conscious. "My daughter listened to that," says Beyer of a situation when she once again felt the need to justify herself and her behavior towards her daughters. "She said: The world will end anyway if we continue like this."

  • "Fridays for future", my vegan daughters and I: how could we?

Over and out

Getty Images / Peter Summers

Yesterday, as expected, the British House of Commons voted in favor of ratifying the Brexit agreement with the European Union . This means that Great Britain will very likely leave the EU on January 31. A trade agreement with the EU is to be concluded in a transition period until the end of 2020. A year to carry out the Brexit in a regulated manner?

In the highest political leadership of the EU, this project is considered daring and actually impossible, but an extension of the deadline is excluded in the ratified agreement. So it will be another very intensive year 2020 in terms of Brexit , we are practiced in it after this year.

But what does the British move mean for Germany? And what for the UK? You will find answers to both questions in the new SPIEGEL.

Federal Minister of Economics Peter Altmaier is trying to gain something positive from the approaching end of British EU membership. The slowdown in the German economy was also due to the uncertainty among companies about a possible no-deal Brexit, Altmaier said in an interview. "It now seems to have become much less likely."

  • Altmaier believes that everything will be fine: The economy minister in a SPIEGEL conversation about the prospects for 2020
  • Great Britain: The War of the Roses

Children in power - or first in the Basic Law

Getty Images

When you speak to employees of youth welfare offices, cases come up quickly in which you feel powerless . For example, you took a child out of a family because the child's well-being was in acute danger. They organize a network to look after the child. Then the parents complain about the removal. In many cases they are right. The judges respect the so-called parental right, which is enshrined in Article 6 of the Basic Law. A fatal situation for the youth welfare offices because they feel powerless to help the child.

In order to strengthen the child's well-being, the grand coalition had decided in its coalition agreement to also anchor children's rights in the Basic Law. Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht has now introduced a corresponding bill that child protectionists believe is failing across the board . It was formulated so timidly that nothing changes in the power relationship between parents, child and state. We therefore call Lambrecht's plans in SPIEGEL a "dwarf reform".

  • Conflict over the Basic Law: Do children need more protection from their parents?

Loser of the day ... ...

DPA

... is the employee in the Ministry of Defense who apparently deleted the data on the cell phone of the former Minister of Defense and today's EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, in August. He could be responsible for the fact that SMS communication, which would be relevant for the clarification in the investigative committee on the consultant affair, was destroyed forever. He may also have violated the principle that government departments must retain official information. He will probably claim to have performed a routine job. In any case, the cell phone affair is far from clear.

The compact news overview in the morning: up-to-date and strong in opinion. Every morning (weekdays) at 6 a.m. Order directly here:

The latest news from the night

  • USA impose sanctions for Nord Stream 2: Until recently, Germany wanted to prevent the punitive measures. Unsuccessful: US President Donald Trump has signed the new defense budget - the sanctions are now officially in force
  • Venice's hoteliers complain of a dramatic drop in bookings : after the devastating flood, 45 percent of bookings had been canceled in the past 30 days, the city's hotelier association says. One reason for this is misunderstandings - tourists from the USA feared for their children
  • At the Darts World Cup two Germans are in round three for the first time : World Cup debutant Nico Kurz has managed the second surprise in a row against number 15 in the world rankings. And Germany's number one Max Hopp won against Clemens vanquisher Van de Pas despite modest performance

The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today

  • No guidance, no concept: the train doesn't know where to put all the money
  • Interview with Christian Lindner: "Many people have other concerns than the climate"
  • Wrong apartment searched: nine police officers and a half-naked woman
  • Philosopher about the hypocrisy of the Germans: "Who chooses the Greens? Those with the largest carbon footprint"
  • Tips from the psychologist: How to get through the holidays without stress

I wish you a wonderful fourth Advent!

warmly
Yours Martin Knobbe

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2019-12-21

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