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1.
End of the line hope
The
Chancellor
gave an interview that she would hope that not too many people read.
Not because of the content: "The fact that the federal and state governments restrict freedoms is one of the toughest decisions of my term in office."
And there should be
as few of them as possible
during the
shutdown
(commuters excluded).
Icon: enlarge
Chancellor in the driver's cab (2017): Where she sits is in front.
Photo: Pool / Getty Images
Merkel wants to discuss
the
duration of the shutdown
with the country chiefs early next week.
But there are already increasing voices that many things will remain tight beyond January 10th.
"I expect that on January 5th, when we next meet, we will not be able to assess the whole thing precisely and will therefore have to continue the lockdown," says her Chancellor Helge Braun (CDU).
And Thuringia's Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (left) says he is preparing "that we have to live with restrictions until March".
Until then, there is also a bit of train travel feeling in the home office when the WLAN jerks like ICE again because the whole family is video conferencing, streaming series or reading the train magazine online at the same time.
The readers of the printed edition, in turn, can hope
to meet
rare
mask refusers
on the way to the dining car
.
After the railway, according to its own information, counted almost 200,000 of these topless people on its trains and at the stations from September to December, it is now considering taking harder measures and issuing train bans.
After all: the
vaccination campaign
has started successfully, despite minor mishaps.
According to the Robert Koch Institute, around 18,000 people in this country have had the active ingredient from Biontech / Pfizer injected, including around 10,000 nursing home residents
.
You can find all current developments on the pandemic here: The Corona Update
2.
Go home?
During the first Corona wave, underwear and mattress manufacturers switched their production to masks and protective equipment (which did not always go well) because the goods produced in China were becoming scarce in Germany.
Now, at the end of the year, some nurses are saying that they still have to work with masks they have made themselves, as my colleagues Birte Bredow, Nike Laurenz and Lisa Duhm report.
And there is a shortage of corona vaccines across the EU.
Which
has to do
with the sometimes
chaotic ordering policy
on the one hand, but also with
insufficient production capacities
on the other
.
The German vaccine manufacturer Biontech is currently working flat out on the completion of a new factory in Marburg.
Icon: enlarge
Tablets from China, tablets soon from Europe?
Photo: Frank Rumpenhorst / dpa
"However, German companies will not bring their productions home on a large scale," says my colleague David Böcking from our economic department.
"Yes, because it would make goods significantly more expensive." However, it could look different in medicine: "According to surveys, Germans would definitely spend more money on regional health products," says David.
"This is where the inhibitions about political influence are sinking - after all, even FDP leader Christian Lindner is now calling for the corona vaccine to be" produced in a crisis "."
Corona has also shown other industries how dependent they are often on a few, distant business partners.
"As a consequence, many companies want to look for more and closer suppliers - for example in Eastern Europe instead of China."
Read the full analysis here: Is industry bringing its production back to Germany?
3.
Trade by approach
The EU bureaucracy, often scolded for its alleged sluggishness, is switching
to speed
with the
trade agreement with Great Britain
: The ambassadors of the 27 member states today said tentatively yes to the so-called provisional application of the
1,246-page
proposal and started a decision in writing, which tomorrow, should be completed at 3 p.m.
The federal government signaled its approval.
Icon: enlarge
With your back to the country?
Photo: Paul Grover / Getty Images
The step had become necessary because the European Parliament lacks the time to ratify the agreement.
That should be made up for in the new year.
On the British side, on the other hand, parliament is expected to vote on December 30th.
As far as the formal, for the emotional, I recommend the
angry speech by
our columnist Nikolaus Blome.
A few excerpts:
"In all my years as a journalist, I have never seen such a shameful rogue like this one, and put into practice by a party that calls itself 'conservative'."
"Brexit would never have happened if cranky conservative politicians had not deceived and lied to their people in a hitherto unknown way."
"Sarcasm and malicious glee do not fit
Brexit
, just naked horror."
You can find the whole text here: Anger instead of sadness
What else is important today
Trump gives up the blockade and puts Corona aid into effect:
After resisting the new Corona aid package, the US President has now decided to sign the bill.
A shutdown of the federal authorities was thus averted at the last moment.
NATO fighter jets are increasingly forced to deploy because of Russian military aircraft:
Russian military aircraft are often undercover near the NATO borders.
That is why the alliance keeps launching fighter jets as a precaution.
The number of these alarm starts has now increased again.
Tech billionaire Lin Qi dies at the age of 39:
his game company Yoozoo Games made him rich and famous, and now the company has announced the death of its founder Lin Qi.
The Shanghai authorities are investigating possible poisoning.
Prominent women's rights activist in Saudi Arabia sentenced to five years in prison:
She campaigned for women's rights to drive in Saudi Arabia, then Loujain Alhathloul was arrested shortly before it came into force.
Now a court has sentenced the women's rights activist to prison.
My favorite story today: The struggle of a lifetime
Icon: enlarge
Perla Londole: First apolitical, now an activist
Photo: Raphael Foidl
When the African American George Floyd died as a result of police violence, the wave of protests also hit Germany.
Three women were particularly involved.
They told my colleague Jean-Pierre Ziegler how 2020 changed their life - and what they think should be done now.
You can find the whole text here: "So, now I'm going to start saving the world"
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL +
The way back is the goal:
SPIEGEL reports from crisis areas show hot spots in world events.
We only rarely tell you how to get there and, above all, back again.
Protocol of a four-day odyssey through Yemen.
"Those were dark moments, and I asked myself the question of meaning":
Severin Freund is taking part in the Four Hills Tournament for the first time since 2016.
Here he tells how ski jumpers lose their shape and why he is still tormenting himself.
Dike of the future:
In Schlüttsiel in Schleswig-Holstein, coast guards are building a new type of bulwark against the North Sea.
Can it be possible to withstand the rising water levels?
Which is less important today
Icon: enlargePhoto:
VALERIE MACON / AFP
Vader our:
The celebrity
son Jameson Moon Hart
, 4, celebrated his birthday in the costume of the most famous "Star Wars" villain at a superhero party, of which his mother, the singer
Pink
, 41, published several photos on Instagram.
A few weeks ago, she reported that 2020 was not a good year for the family;
they both had Covid-19 in March, and the child in particular had a hard time.
Her comment was all the more relieved: "I admire you and I am happy every day to be part of your life and to be your mom."
Typo of the day
, corrected in the meantime: "Many vehicles have license plates from more distant districts."
Cartoon of the day:
Coming soon ...
Icon: enlarge Photo: Klaus Stuttmann
And tonight?
Icon: enlargePhoto:
Manju Sawhney / ARD
Could you watch a miniseries in the ARD media library that will only be shown on television in January: In the somewhat different road movie
"Forever Summer 90"
, Charly Hübner portrays a banker who is unsure of his past.
“Guy's an asshole, that much is obvious.
The question is: is he a small one or a big one? «Writes my colleague Christian Buß about the figure.
(You can find the full review here.)
A lovely evening.
Sincerely,
Oliver Trenkamp
Here you can order the "Lage am Abend" by email.