Today it's about the end of the Löw / Merkel era.
About sexual violence against children in Germany.
And Donald Trump's comeback plans.
End of a German era
I'm not a fan of napping in between. But during the
last
16 match between Germany and England
early yesterday evening I was about to put on my head. What a
boring, unimaginative and, above all, dispassionate match
. Sometimes it seemed as if the standing football of the 1970s was back - only without the ingenuity of geniuses like Günther Netzer. It's not that I was enthusiastic about the English, on the contrary, otherwise the game, which some people jazzed up to the »preferred final«, would not have been one of the most desolate of this European Championship. At best, they were a tad less dispassionate, unimaginative, and mindless. A few Swiss would have done the game good.
The long
era of Joachim Löw
as national coach is now over. It began in 2006, a year after the
Angela Merkel era
began. And it ends a few months before hers.
Both have their merits
. You gave the country something that it hadn't known before: At Löw, it was aesthetics, joy of playing, lightness. Merkel showed her fellow citizens how liberating it can be if you don't take yourself too seriously. Both stood for something fresh, new. And experienced the high points of their careers around the same time. Merkel with the victory in the federal election in autumn 2013, when the Union gained almost an absolute majority. Löw in the summer of 2014 when Germany became world champions.
And now to the last parallel: Both would have done each other (and the country) a favor if they had stopped earlier.
In any case, the last few years have not been her best.
That they didn't do it isn't tragic, but it's a shame.
Not least for yourself. Now it is high time for something new.
Löw leaves, but the problems remain: The big challenges for his successor Hansi Flick
Children's sufferings
Federal President
Frank-Walter Steinmeier
invited representatives of the National Council against Sexual Violence against Children to Bellevue Palace today. He also wants to give a speech on the societal problem that statistics show has worsened during the pandemic. The appointment is good and correct. Steinmeier has shown at various meetings in the recent past that he takes the topic very seriously.
The National Council has drawn up a document in which proposals are made on how
sexual violence against children
could at least be contained in the future.
That is also commendable.
However, it will be crucial that public funds are made available to help those affected quickly and unbureaucratically.
This is still lacking - despite all the papers and public confessions.
So far, responsibility has been shifted back and forth between the federal, state and local governments.
For example, there is no legal right to advice for those affected.
If this existed, there should also be enough advice centers.
But who should finance this is still open.
The failure of Lügde: The reconstruction of one of the most serious cases of abuse in the Federal Republic
Trump's comeback
“They bring drugs. They bring crime. You are rapist. ”With these disgusting sentences about immigrants from South America,
Donald Trump
started
his application for the White House in 2015. His biggest campaign hit was the insane promise to build a wall between the US and Mexico, for which Mexico, watch out, will pay for it. In reality, Trump left only parts of a reinforced protective fence when he retired. And Mexico, of course, didn't pay a penny.
Today Trump
will visit
the
border with Mexico again
- at the invitation of the Texas Governor Greg Abbott. Trump's simple answers to the migration question are likely to remain popular among his supporters, precisely because the number of refugees at the border has recently risen sharply again. With the visit, Trump also wants to set an example on his own behalf. The message: I'm still here, my mission is not over yet.
He's been back on the road for days.
Most recently, Trump held a major rally in Ohio.
More are to follow.
Officially, it is about the early support of Trump-loyal candidates for the elections to the Senate and the House of Representatives in the coming year.
In fact, he will also have a renewed candidacy for president in mind.
Anything else would be unlikely for a man who chronically considers himself the greatest and whose vengeance is particularly pronounced.
Comeback tour: How Donald Trump fuels speculation about another candidacy
Loser of the day ...
...
could be the European idea
. As if the European Union didn't already have enough trouble with the Hungarian autocrat Viktor Orbán, it is now also dealing with one of his greatest admirers: the Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Janša. Like Orbán, he is a supporter of "illiberal democracy". Janša takes action against the government-critical media in his country and overturns decisions of the independent judiciary. He tweets against journalists, cuts subsidies for cultural institutions and spreads anti-Slovenian conspiracy theories.
This Thursday, Janša will take over the office of EU Council President according to schedule.
As my colleagues Jan Puhl and Michael Sauga describe, not a few in Brussels fear that Janša will use this special role to rage together with Orbán and the nationalist government of Poland against tolerance and minority rights.
The citizens of Slovenia, on the other hand, are even more pro-European after the corona crisis than before.
The latest news from the night
Biden wants to appoint university boss Gutmann as ambassador in Berlin:
Amy Gutmann is one of the most prominent political scientists in the USA - and according to SPIEGEL information, she should become the US ambassador in Berlin.
The 71-year-old must repair the damage that her predecessor did
The Netherlands accuse Russia of provocation with fighter jets:
The "sham attacks" are said to have lasted over five hours: the Dutch government accuses Russia of harassing a frigate in the Black Sea.
The Kremlin denies this
49.5 degrees - record heat in Canada claims human lives:
almost 50 degrees Celsius were measured on Canada's west coast - it has never been so hot in the North American country.
According to the police, the sudden deaths are increasing
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Research project “Splatter”: What accidents involving wildlife reveal about our animal world
I wish you a happy Wednesday
Your Markus Feldenkirchen