How EU criticism against Russia would become more effective
The relationship between Russia and Europe is in a serious crisis.
Germany, Sweden and Poland have each expelled employees from the Russian embassies from the country.
The governments are reacting to the previous expulsion of diplomats from the three countries from Russia last Friday - on a day on which the EU foreign policy representative Josep Borrell was visiting Russia.
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EU chief diplomat Borrell visits Moscow
Photo: RUSSIAN FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTRY HANDOUT / EPA-EFE / Shutterstock
Russia had justified the deportation of the diplomats with the accusation that they had "participated" in illegal protests against the imprisonment of the opposition politician Alexej Navalny - the government representatives from Sweden, Poland and Germany disagree: From Berlin it is said that the embassy employee had the demonstrations just watched.
The Russian Foreign Ministry, in turn, criticized the expulsions of its diplomats from EU countries as "unjustified and unfriendly".
However, it is justified that the West reacted at least unfriendly to all these affronts, but above all to the arrest of Navalny and the Russian government's lack of interest in investigating his poisoning.
But behaving negatively towards Russia all along the line in the spirit of the Cold War cannot lead any further.
The certain undertone that can also be heard in the West in media coverage of the Sputnik V vaccine developed in Russia is counterproductive.
Yes, the Russian government approved the vaccine at a time when the test results were not yet clear enough by Western standards.
And yes, there are still inconsistencies and a lack of transparency here.
All of that needs to be addressed.
But as soon as the inconsistencies have been cleared up, Sputnik continues to prove itself and Europe urgently needs vaccines, it would not only make sense, it would also be advisable to cooperate here.
Diplomacy no longer helps against bitterness.
Anyone who cooperates in one place and accuses others with the utmost severity is much more convincing.
Deportation of diplomats: Moscow's calculated affront
The loud silence of the Left Party in the Navalny case
By the way - Navalny.
After its poisoning in the late summer of 2020, several prominent politicians from the Left Party did not want to hear about a possible responsibility of the Kremlin, turned them off and stressed that the case had to be investigated more closely before allowing a judgment.
Now, however, it is becoming apparent that the Kremlin has no interest in clarifying the matter, and at the same time journalists, including those from SPIEGEL, have uncovered some things that should really alarm those leftists who spoke out at the time.
But there is hardly anything to be heard from the party; the silence on the Navalny case is as loud as the protests against an allegedly premature condemnation of Russia in the autumn.
The left prefer to turn to other issues.
Fashion color green
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Party leaders Riexinger and Kipping present draft for election manifesto
Photo: Bernd von Jutrczenka / dpa
One of these issues is environmental protection.
Yesterday, the party leaders Katja Kipping and Bernd Riexinger presented their draft for an election program, they spoke of a »socio-ecological policy change«.
The SPD also wants to strengthen environmental issues, the party leadership announced yesterday after a two-day retreat.
Union politicians like the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder flirt with the Greens anyway, so also with green issues.
The Greens must slowly see whether there is anything left for them, especially since they are also getting competition from a new party in Baden-Württemberg, from the "climate list".
Scholz's fight against black and green: The wedding crash
Impeachment - and one more try
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Trump supporters storm the Capitol
Photo: John C. Clark / imago images / ZUMA Wire
The second impeachment proceedings against ex-President Donald Trump in the US Senate begin today.
Accusation: "inciting a riot".
On January 6, Trump supporters stormed the Capitol after a rally by the then president.
A two-thirds majority in the Senate would be necessary for Trump to be convicted; it is unlikely that this will happen, as too many Republicans fear a split in the party.
The former president's lawyers have already called the case unconstitutional because Trump left office.
In fact, the Democrats are moving in a gray area with their charges.
But what will happen to the Republicans if Trump escapes conviction, but the rioters in the upcoming criminal proceedings will defend themselves against them by saying that they had only followed the president's call?
And what if some of them are then sentenced to heavy sentences?
Yes, the Republicans were threatened with split if they agreed to be impeached.
But such approval would be their last chance for integrity for the time being.
Impeachment proceedings against Trump: The attempted coup file
Mini-series »New Again«
The Prime Ministers and the Chancellor will meet tomorrow in Berlin, and it is quite possible that they will extend the shutdown beyond February 14 by two weeks.
The state of emergency is slowly becoming the normal state.
The pandemic has had us under control for almost a year, which is why I would like to close this week's Morning Briefings with a miniseries instead of “Winners / Losers of the Day”: “New Again”.
I would like to ask what we learned to appreciate or discovered again in this long state of emergency - and not on a large scale, but in everyday life.
I should always like to point out that this question should not seem cynical in view of all the sorrow and suffering, but if we did not learn anything, it would all be in vain.
Walkers in Ahrenshoop
Photo: Bernd Wüstneck / dpa
The second episode today will be about the walk.
If you meet today, you have to stomp around outside together.
This pastime seems almost Biedermeier, as you used to go for a walk with the family, which included the fact that children didn't feel like it and accordingly trotted along musty.
Today, however, you can see a lot of happy, similar old strollers deep in conversation - finally being together again.
And so the walk gets its original meaning back.
The word was borrowed from Italian in the 15th century, as Italians know something about the good life.
It goes back to “spaziare
”
, which also means
“to indulge
”
.
“Strolling” soon became a synonym.
Parks and boardwalks developed as the stroll became more popular.
There is even walking science.
The pandemic will hopefully go away and the desire to walk will hopefully remain.
Promenadology: How walks can change our view of the world
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I wish you a good start to the day.
Your Susanne Beyer
