The situation in the morning

Today we are dealing with the likely candidate for Chancellor Armin Laschet.

The failure in school policy.

And the neglected Corona hero.

Söder's shin kick

Without any beer, the political Ash Wednesday was frankly much more hearty than with.

Without the cheering of the beer tent visitors, yesterday it finally came down to the content.

The CSU had invited the CDU chairman Armin Laschet as a guest speaker to their digital event.

What could have come across as a generous gesture, however, turned out to be a solid kick in front of the shin.

It is true that CSU boss Markus Söder dutifully emphasized how great a union pulls together, even now together with "Armin".

But then "Markus" said a very carefully considered sentence.

Leaning on his white and blue tablecloth, Söder said, "Anyone who thinks they will get Merkel votes in September must know: Merkel votes are only possible with Merkel politics." Translated, that means: Armin does not do Merkel politics .

And as a candidate for chancellor, it would get too few votes for the Union.

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Markus Söder

Photo: Peter Kneffel / dpa

In fact, it was only on Monday at the New Year's reception of the Baden-Württemberg CDU that Laschet cut out a few slogans that would have put people in a good mood at every lateral thinker demo: “I think the popular attitude is still to forbid everything, be strict Citizens treat them like underage children. ”Or:“ We cannot measure our entire lives by incidence values ​​alone. ”

One can rightly turn up one's nose at such sayings.

But strategically, they were extremely helpful to Laschet.

Because they were particularly well received by the supporters of Friedrich Merz.

And Laschet can now be sure of their support in the duel for the Union's candidacy for chancellor.

Someone from the CDU leadership told me yesterday that it was now one hundred percent certain that Laschet would become a candidate for chancellor.

There will be no influential CDU politician who openly calls for Markus Söder.

It is precisely these calls that Söder, as a representative of the smaller Union party, would need to become a candidate for chancellor.

It seems as if Söder's “Merkel policy” could destroy his chances of running for chancellor in the corona crisis, which made him so popular with the citizens.

The exciting question for a candidate for Chancellor Laschet would then be whether Söder is right with yesterday's prophecy that there are only "Merkel votes" with "Merkel politics".

If so, "Annalena" or "Robert" will be happy in the end.

• Digital Ash Wednesday of the CSU: A toast to the uncomfortable

"A crime against the child"

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Empty classroom (symbol image)

Photo: Hauke-Christian Dittrich / dpa

"Corona has restored the educational conditions of the premodern," says the renowned educational historian Heinz-Emar Tenorth.

He believes the corona pandemic is throwing the education system back into the early 19th century.

"What happens here has to be called social regression," says Tenorth, who is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences "Leopoldina", which advises the German government.

There is actually not much to gloss over.

German politics has sinned against children and young people.

Despite innumerable warnings, exactly nothing was done to enable teaching worthy of this name, even in times of pandemic.

The state has:

• Schools closed while almost all offices and manufacturing facilities could remain open

• No air filter systems for all classrooms concerned

• Not bothering to provide quick tests for all teachers AND students

• Nothing has been done to ensure adequate digital teaching

• No extra effort was made

"Withholding school is a crime against the child," said educational scientist Tenorth in an interview with my colleague Katja Iken.

Of all the inadequacies in the Corona policy, failure at school actually weighs the heaviest.

The consequences will haunt our society forever.

• Education historian on Corona measures: "Withholding school is a crime against children"

Pay instead of clapping

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Caregiver (symbol image)

Photo: Oliver Berg / dpa

In a video conference today, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier wants to talk to doctors and nurses in Saxony about their situation in the corona crisis.

It is another attempt to pay special attention to those people who are doing far more than others for society in the pandemic - and are still badly treated and paid.

The Federal President's attention is not bad.

Really good would be working conditions and wages that actually express recognition and dignity.

• Health expert on corona consequences: "We could die again from infectious diseases like scarlet fever"

Winner of the day

... is the soccer magazine »11Freunde«.

Because it started a campaign under the hashtag »you can count on us«, with which homosexual footballers are assured unconditional solidarity.

More than 800 players support this campaign.

And countless fans spontaneously showed their support on social networks.

In times when professional football is sending rather questionable signals to society, this is a wonderful action.

The latest news from the night

• Facebook turns the news off:

  Australia wants to regulate the digital news market more strictly, which can be expensive for tech companies.

  Facebook is now blocking the sharing of journalistic content - according to its own information "with a heavy heart"

• Patrons and Martians:

  Bill Gates speaks to Sandra Maischberger about vaccination fears, conspiracy madness - and how he refueled his private planes.

  An audience with ups and downs

• Manchester City pulls away with the twelfth win in a row:

  In the Premier League there is currently no way around Manchester City.

  Pep Guardiola's team wins game after game - and threatens to get even better after Kevin De Bruyne returns

The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today

• One year coronavirus: are we dumber than this thing without a brain?

• Research robot "Perseverance": This is how NASA searches for traces of life on Mars

• Creativity researchers on strategies against lockdown lethargy: This is how your brain stays active even if you are not experiencing anything

• How David Hasselhoff's swimming trunks came to Kraichgau: Baywatch in Bad Rappenau

Stay cheerful as best you can!

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