News of the day: Putin's toxic masculinity

1. "It wasn't pain, it was something worse"

Much has been written about

in the past few months.

But hardly any other understanding of masculinity can literally be more toxic than that of the Russian President:

The case of the

does not show the first time: the Russian opposition should probably with the 

be killed.

The circumstances strongly suggest the Kremlin;

denies any involvement.

The new SPIEGEL is here, here digitally, tomorrow at the kiosk.

My colleagues Benjamin Bidder and Christian Esch met Navalny on Wednesday morning around six o'clock.

;

Navalny had only been released from the Berlin Charité a few days earlier.

Four bodyguards from the State Criminal Police Office secured the visit to our capital city office.

There Navalny reported how he experienced the poisoning, how he woke up from a coma - and why he blames Putin for the murder plot.

The interview was quoted worldwide.

The Kremlin responded promptly and rejected the allegations as "absolutely unfounded and absurd".

In Germany, the SPIEGEL conversation fueled the

against Russia: FDP leader Lindner called on the federal government to punish the Russian elite.

Icon: enlarge

Esch, Bidder, Navalny

Photo: Peter Rigaud / DER SPIEGEL

Navalny seemed concentrated at the meeting

, remembered a lot - and yet you can see the consequences of his poisoning.

Scars on the neck show where it was ventilated.

He needs both hands to hold a water bottle.

Nevertheless, he is determined to return to Russia as soon as possible.

"My hands are shaking, but not out of fear," he says.

• You can read the whole conversation here: "I claim that Putin is behind the act"

2.

Toll to the gap

A quick Google search shows:

The CDU man muddles through his tenure since the

failed.

The attempt to introduce them ended in disaster.

A committee of inquiry is now dealing with it.

Scheuer is said to have broken budgetary and public procurement law and lied to parliament.

Icon: enlarge

Man at the wheel, it'll be expensive

Photo: DPA

Today it should come to the showdown

, Scheuer give information to the committee.

However, according to SPIEGEL information, there are efforts by the Union faction to postpone the appearance.

Even if the minister were to speak, it would be late.

"Scheuer is now under considerable pressure,"

says my colleague Gerald Traufetter from our capital city office.

"And that increased again in the afternoon due to a statement from an insider."

The head of the originally planned operating company contradicted the information provided by the minister in several cases.

• Gerald explains the whole affair here in the video.

  You can read all the background information here.

  You can hear a podcast by my colleague Yasemin Yüksel here.

3.

Eleven well

In my impression, Oliver Bierhoff is about as popular among football experts as Sigmar Gabriel is in the SPD leadership

.

Yes, he has merits, but they are far behind.

(I was allowed to see the golden goal at the European Championship 1996 in a hotel bar in Lloret de Mar, which I did not leave that evening because of the, well, disappointment of the English fellow travelers.)

Icon: enlarge

Hopeless ball?

Photo: Michael Regan / FIFA / Getty Images

My colleague Jörn Meyn met Bierhoff for the first time in March 2016 for an interview.

At that time Germany was world champion and should go to the EM as one of the favorites.

"Bierhoff was in a good mood during the interview," remembers Jörn.

"He wrote the sentence that the DFB team was 'the nation's last campfire'; but since the international match against Switzerland in August it has been clear that the

."

The TV quota was historically poor with 6.25 million viewers, even against San Marino in the 2018 World Cup qualification, a lot more people watched, namely 7.4 million. 

Now Jörn spoke to Bierhoff again

, together with my colleague Gerhard Pfeil.

They wanted to know from the DFB director: Why did the national team lose their audience?

How does he want to change that?

Bierhoff says sentences like this: "If it's all about money, you shouldn't be surprised if people turn away as a result."

An at least interesting, hey, objection, when you consider that hardly anyone was marketing the football feeling as intensely as Bierhoff himself. Jörn says: "It was a slightly less cheerful interview."

•  You can read the whole conversation here: "We have to be careful not to over-spin the wheel any further"

What else is important today

• At the EU summit there were too many problems for two days:

  anger with Turkey, blocked sanctions against Belarus, the poisoning of Alexej Navalny.

  The most explosive topic is not even on the agenda.

• Union voters support Spahn and Söder as a top duo:

  A majority of the supporters of the Union parties want Jens Spahn to run for the CDU chairmanship - and not Armin Laschet.

  And then the Bavarian Prime Minister comes into play.

• Superspreader Trump:

  The US President repeatedly advocates crude corona theories.

  An analysis by scientists now shows how quickly his misinformation spreads.

• Virologist Drosten awarded the Order of Merit:

  He provided "globally recognized knowledge on corona infection" - now Christian Drosten has been honored by the Federal President for this

  .

Icon: enlarge

Earned by far

Photo: Michael Sohn / AP

What we recommend today at SPIEGEL +

• "Nord Stream 2 is based on a corrupt deal":

  HR McMaster was Donald Trump's National Security Advisor until he was fired.

  Here he talks about Putin's unscrupulous actions, the future of NATO and the trench warfare in the White House.

• Germany's mistakes, Germany's successes:

  a lot has gone wrong since the pandemic broke out.

  How did the actors in politics, authorities and science experience the corona crisis - and what did they learn?

• "I admit that was a mistake":

  At the beginning of his career, BAP boss Wolfgang Niedecken received lousy fees, but he never felt poor.

  What he regrets today: to have accepted money from a tobacco company.

• Walk away from the debt brake !:

  Politicians want to return to saving as soon as possible.

  But that would be too early - and bad for the economy.

Which is not so important today

Icon: enlarge

Fashion to joy

Photo: Piergiorgio Pirrone / dpa

• Event words

  :

  The Italian influencer

  Chiara Ferragni

  , 33, who also works as a fashion blogger and model, is having a second child, as she announced to her 21 million Instagram subscribers.

  She posted a photo of her son Leone Lucia, 2, who is holding an ultrasound image.

  She wrote: "Our family is getting bigger. Leo will be a big brother."

Typo of the day

, now corrected: "As the broadcaster ProSieben announced, the next edition of Heidi Klum's show will not be shot in the USA."

Cartoon of the day: the

downside of home office

Icon: enlarge Photo: Thomas Plaßmann

And tonight?

Could you consider a

novel

, even if it doesn't necessarily make you sleep easier - on the contrary.

However, the thriller author has temporarily stopped writing: Until the election in the USA he will fight with videos against the "liar, crook and fraudster" Donald Trump, as he says.

My colleague Volker Weidermann

to Winslow

about the prospects of success

in our

(you can find the whole program here).

"Winslow was shocked

. And hopeful. Good station wagon," says Volker.

The two also talked about Trump's appearance in the TV duel.

Winslow: "This was too much! This time it is really really too much!"

So instead of reading, you could watch the show.

Or both.

Volker naturally recommends

and

: "The first before the election, the second after Joe Biden's election victory."

Icon: enlarge

W and W in the www.

Photo: DER SPIEGEL

Have a nice evening, see you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

Here you can order the "Lage am Abend" by email.