Why German self-centeredness is dangerous

Today we are concerned with the question of why Europe and the Germans in particular are reacting so badly to the foreign policy crises in their neighborhood. We also look to Markus Söder in Bavaria.

The Europeans and their perplexed foreign policy

Europe is a rich continent that is very good at many things - it got through the pandemic better than other parts of the world, for example. But Europe is facing dangers from outside that it is not prepared for. It's in an increasingly unstable neighborhood . That is often suppressed - in Europe, but especially in Germany. You are busy with yourself, you look at the uncomfortable surroundings at a loss: in Belarus, a European country, has dictator Lukashenko shot at his citizens who are demonstrating against his election fraud. And the EU has no answer. It takes days for the EU foreign affairs officer or the German foreign minister to respond with reasonably sharp words. Also because the EU and NATO do not want Lukashenko (if he stays in power) to move closer to Putin - or even to allow Russian military bases. In Belarus, Europe appears impotent in foreign policy.

The situation is particularly precarious in the Mediterranean region . Here the EU is dealing with aggressive central powers that are securing influence and territory between Syria and Libya - Iran, Russia and the United Arab Emirates , but most recently Turkey in particular . In Libya, which is strategically important for Europe, it now plays the central role. And these days it is risking a military conflict with the EU country and NATO partner Greece: A Turkish research ship, accompanied by a military fleet, is looking for gas deposits in waters that are claimed by Greece. It's about a lot of money, but also about geopolitical validity. An escalation cannot be ruled out - what then?

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The Turkish research vessel Oruc Reis, accompanied by the Turkish Navy, in the Mediterranean

The EU will not be able to exist in the long run if it does not develop geopolitical ambitions , if it does not become a diplomatic and military power . France, with President Emmanuel Macron, is currently the only country that shows such a design claim, but mostly acts alone. Of course, Europe's perplexed foreign policy is also due to the fact that people rarely agree - but not only. In Germany, on the other hand, aspirants can rely on the Chancellery that they will not be asked questions about foreign policy in interviews. That is dangerous provincialism. The world in Europe's neighborhood is currently rearranging itself, not least because the USA is withdrawing - and it is high time that people in Berlin also began to show an interest in it. But here there is navel gazing.

• Gas dispute with Greece: Ankara on an escalation course in the Aegean Sea

Pompeo visits Melania's home

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Mike Pompeo meets the Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis

Trump's Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrives today in Slovenia , home of First Lady Melania Trump . Pompeo is on a trip to Europe, but he has little interest in "old Europe", he steers clear of Germany. He has already been to the Czech Republic and is also traveling to Poland - both countries where populists are in power who see Donald Trump as an ally. Incidentally, also in the fight against the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline driven by Germany . The fact that this pipeline was supported by the German government against the resistance of the Eastern Europeans, because it was believed to be able to differentiate between Russia as an economic partner and Russia as a geopolitical adversary, is unfortunately also an expression of foreign policy naivety. But that does not excuse the action of the USA, which is now even considering imposing sanctions on the Baltic Sea port of Sassnitz.

Above all, Pompeo is looking for allies against China on his trip: In Slovenia he wants to sign an agreement directed against the Chinese 5G supplier Huawei, which was also his big topic in the Czech Republic. USA versus China - that is the great geopolitical conflict of our time. And here, too, Europe will not agree on the question of where it wants to be.

• Due to US sanctions: Uniper warns of the failure of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline

Söder's Corona debacle

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Markus Söder

Now, a fluctuation from German domestic politics: There are 900 people walking around somewhere in Germany who tested positive for Corona in Bavaria - but whose test results accidentally did not reach them. A total of 44,000 travelers who have been tested in Bavaria (especially on the autobahn) are waiting for their results. The problem lay - as is so often the case in Germany - with digitization : the test results had to be manually transferred to Excel tables and that took longer and longer.

This is more than just embarrassing for Markus Söder . Because he teased Armin Laschet , his opponent in the fight for the chancellorship of the Union - the corona outbreak at the meat processor Tönnies in North Rhine-Westphalia served Söder as evidence of Laschet's laxity. But now Söder has a problem that could take on larger dimensions. Because how many people have the 900 who tested positive for their part already infected again? Because all of this is Söder's overriding responsibility, the corona fighter now has an image problem . How big it will certainly depend on how quickly he reacts - and how much the numbers in Bavaria are increasing. He already canceled a trip to the North Sea coast on Twitter with the words: "Bavaria goes first."

• CDU annoyed by Markus Söder: Too bright, too loud, too penetrating

Story of the day: How New Zealand wasn't corona-free after all

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New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern brings the bad news

It should actually be a great success story: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced victory in the fight against the corona virus three and a half months ago. On Sunday, the country cracked another mark: 100 days without a corona transmission on site. The active cases: all of them, known and in quarantine. It stayed that way for two more days. Then Ardern appeared again in front of journalists. The head of government announced that four new cases had been reported. It is a family from Auckland, the largest city in the country. Read what happened here.

• Shock in New Zealand: Corona is back after 102 days

Loser of the day ...

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RKI President Lothar Wieler (left) in April at a press conference with Jens Spahn

... is the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Already in the spring it came under fire for suspicion of excessive demands. And since there are far too many crazy conspiracy theories surrounding the RKI and the subject of vaccinations, one would expect the higher federal authority for infectious diseases to refrain from making unnecessary mistakes. Instead, the RKI accidentally published an outdated position paper yesterday in which it assumed that a vaccination would be possible in the fall - and the message promptly went around the world, and SPIEGEL also published it in its news update. A good two hours later, the RKI rowed back, saying it had been a mistake - the vaccine is not expected until 2021.

The latest news from the night

• Söder cancels trip to the North Sea due to corona breakdowns: 44,000 return travelers have been waiting for the result of their corona test in Bavaria for days - because the authorities are seriously affected. Markus Söder reacted and called the mess "very, very annoying"

• Olaf Scholz at "Maischberger": If necessary, also with scrap German: Finance Minister Olaf Scholz is, now as SPD candidate for Chancellor, a guest at Sandra Maischberger - and skilfully prances around the traps she is laying

• First appearance by Joe Biden and Kamala Harris ": Unity, optimism - and tough attacks against Donald Trump: The two Democrats made their first joint campaign appearance . A settlement was made with the incumbent

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I wish you a good start to the day.

Your Mathieu von Rohr