On the spot in need
Collective bargaining for the civil service is entering its second round today.
The unions are calling for a wage increase of 4.8 percent for twelve months.
During the pandemic, the state showed that it works and that it can be relied on.
The state is not just the politicians, but also the people who work in the public sector.
Her reputation has grown over the past few months, with the exception of the teaching staff.
Here and there there was a lack of awareness that nurses naturally raised: that you have to be there in an emergency, even if that sometimes involves risks.
But overall, the civil servants have made a major contribution to ensuring that Germany has come through the crisis relatively well so far.
You are the employee of the year.
That should be reflected in the new collective agreement.
Post employees announce nationwide warning strikes
Small party, hardly any effect
What the FDP is still needed for is a question that has been asked for a long time and for which there is always a simple answer: To defend freedom.
And freedom is the most important pillar of democracy, with which the FDP would have a pretty noble task, especially in situations in which freedom is really threatened.
It was and is during the pandemic.
But can one have the feeling that the FDP is doing this job?
Rather not.
Opposition parties always have a hard time getting through, but the FDP is voluntary in the opposition because it has refrained from forming a Jamaica coalition.
It was Christian Lindner's calculation that the FDP can represent its values better in the opposition than in the government.
So far, this calculation has not worked because the liberals lack strong voices and good strategies.
So far, Lindner's decision is one of the great errors of German politics.
Today, as an exception, he has a relatively good chance of getting through, the FDP is holding its federal party conference in Berlin.
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Small party, big impact
A fateful vote will take place in Flensburg today.
The South Schleswig Voters' Association (SSW), the party of the Danish minority in the far north of Germany, will decide whether they want to run in the next general election.
Because of the protection of minorities, fifty to sixty thousand votes would be enough to get a mandate, and the SSW can manage that.
The small party was represented in the Bundestag once before, in the very first from 1949 to 1953, with a member of parliament.
In the election of the Federal Chancellor, Hermann Clausen abstained, and that paved the way for Konrad Adenauer, who was elected with a majority of one vote.
Without Clausen's abstention, the history of the Federal Republic would have been different.
Let's see what happens in the 2021 election.
Loser of the day ...
Unfortunately, these are the football fans.
An 8: 2 by Bayern Munich against FC Barcelona lifts the heart.
A team with a furious performance has turned an opponent who is nominally equivalent off its hinges.
An 8: 0 by Bayern Munich against Schalke 04 only causes regrets.
A giant knocked a gnome over.
As nice as the goals for the Bundesliga opener yesterday were, the prospects for the season are bleak.
Even as a Bayern fan, I would say: If the differences are so big, it's not fun.
I catch myself wishing Borussia Dortmund a strong season.
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America's icon of justice:
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a Supreme Court judge, has died at the age of 87
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I wish you a good start to the day.
Yours Dirk Kurbjuweit
