The morning situation: salvation by the grace of the Taliban?

Today we are again primarily concerned with the situation in Afghanistan: the German government wants to negotiate with the Taliban about the departure of Afghan local forces, and German election campaigners are holding a phantom debate about refugees.

In addition: In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the Prime Minister comes to the election campaign on a call bus.

Talk to the Taliban

In political Berlin it will be another

day dedicated to the Afghanistan disaster

. The Foreign Affairs Committee and the Defense Committee of the Bundestag hold special sessions to discuss the situation in the Hindu Kush. In the morning, the cabinet wants to subsequently initiate the

mandate for the evacuation operation of the Bundeswehr

(Parliament will then have to approve it next week).

How successful the rescue operation of the troops will be in the end cannot yet be foreseen.

After all, the transport machines can now land in Kabul and fly German citizens and those from other EU or NATO countries to Uzbekistan.

But what will become of the so-called local staff, those locals who have helped German soldiers, development workers or diplomats for years and who now fear the revenge of the Taliban?

The terrorist militia fighters have apparently cordoned off the airport and currently only let people with international passports through at checkpoints.

Now the federal government wants to negotiate directly with the Taliban about the departure of local workers and their families.

But do the Taliban even allow themselves to be talked about?

Nobody knows what the currently relatively moderate tones of their speakers are worth.

Could one rely on a negotiation result?

What would the price be anyway?

Lot of money?

Political concessions?

Only one thing is certain: the

fact that the federal government has to hope for the grace of the terrorist militia in order to save its former helpers can be attributed to itself.

And she is also responsible if the local staff have to stay behind.

• German failure in Afghanistan: How the grand coalition is now grappling with the question of guilt

Phantom debate about refugees

The EU interior ministers are joining together for a special video session today.

Afghanistan is not officially on the agenda, the reason for the round is the refugee situation on the border between Lithuania and Belarus.

But it is hard to imagine that it is not also about the situation in the Hindu Kush.

The German Interior Minister set the tone for the debate.

Horst Seehofer explained that up to five million people could now flee Afghanistan from the Taliban.

The Interior Minister announced the number in an internal round, but he must have been aware that it would leak to the public.

According to reports, Seehofer did not say how he came up with the number. Nor did he explicitly say that he feared that millions of refugees would soon make their way to Europe. But it doesn't matter. Five million, that number is now in the room. A fear number that can be used to raise the mood in the election campaign.

In terms of rhetoric, the borders are being closed, and the German shared responsibility for the situation in Afghanistan does not change anything:

2015 should not be repeated, warn especially Union politicians, first and foremost Armin Laschet and Markus Söder, but also SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz. 2015 marked the climax of the so-called refugee crisis, hundreds of thousands came to Germany at the time, mainly from Syria, today the year is used by conservatives (and right-wingers anyway) as a code for a supposedly wrong migration policy, which is the responsibility of Angela Merkel.

Green Chancellor candidate Annalena Baerbock warned the admission of refugee contingents "in the five-digit range", but it is not more specific.

Even the Greens fear that there is little to be gained here if one does not only want to address the regular left-wing clientele.

It is noteworthy that the debate is taking place at all.

Does the Union want to occupy the issue preventively before the AfD does?

That could also be done differently than with hard announcements - for example with reference to reality.

Because it has little to do with 2015.

Of course, hundreds of thousands of Afghans will leave their homeland out of fear of the Taliban, who can blame them?

But the escape routes to Europe are largely tight for people.

The

migration researcher Gerald Knaus

Seehofers called five million

“out of thin air”

on “RTL direkt”.

The discussion now has to be: "How do we bring out the people we want to save instead of

talking

about the

imaginary ghosts of mass migration

that will not take place in this form."

There is nothing to add.

• Afghan refugees: why 2015 cannot repeat itself so easily

Grilling in Grambin

The SPD is taking the dial-a-bus to Brüel today for the official start of the election campaign.

On-call bus?

Bruel?

That has

Manuela Schwesig

thought, because on September 26, not only a new parliament is indeed elected, but in

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

, a

new parliament

.

And because that is such a thing in this relatively large (according to Wikipedia, comparable to Djibouti), but also quite deserted state with local public transport, one of the election promises of the SPD's party of prime ministers, the so-called on-call bus system (if you want to ride, you have to register) to extend to the whole of MV.

That alone won't be enough to win the election, but

polls show that Schwesig's chances are good.

The lead of the Social Democrats over the CDU and AfD is decent, the head of government, who for the first time has to win an election as a top candidate, is popular.

It will be difficult for their CDU competitor named

Michael Sack

, district administrator in the Vorpommern-Greifswald district.

We remember: Actually, a much more prominent Christian Democrat had wanted to challenge Schwesig, but the young conservative star

Philipp Amthor

got entangled in a lobbying affair, renounced the state chairmanship, but has now celebrated his comeback to number one on the state list for the federal elections.

On Wednesday afternoon, Amthor and Sack will perform together in the small town of Bentzin, and Federal Agriculture Minister Julia Klöckner will also be present in talks with farmers.

A good atmosphere is not necessarily guaranteed there.

The Prime Minister is then already on the way to Grambin, about an hour away, without an on-call bus - for a barbecue evening.

• Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania: Mrs. Söder from Schwerin

Loser of the day ...

... is Jürgen Pföhler.

The CDU district administrator of the Ahrweiler district could no longer exercise his office due to illness, it said on Tuesday. This is not a resignation, even though its own party has turned away from Pföhler. The district administrator is accused of having warned the people in the Ahr Valley too late on the evening of July 14th of the approaching, deadly tidal wave, he is threatened with legal consequences.

Pföhler had declared about a week ago that all those responsible had "acted to the best of their knowledge and belief" on the night of the flood.

Then he called in sick.

On Wednesday, a majority in the district assembly will call on the CDU politician to "live up to his political responsibility".

The reason for the appeal: a voting procedure is complicated and lengthy.

Pföhler should spare the people in the Ahr valley.

The latest news from the night

• Belarusian soldiers apparently invaded Lithuania:

  Border guards from Belarus apparently drove 35 migrants in front of them - and entered Lithuanian territory in the process.

  The government in Vilnius speaks of a "brazen provocation"

• Texan governor tested positive for

  corona virus

  :

  Greg Abbott has repeatedly railed against corona protective masks - and, as governor, even took legal action against compulsory wear.

  Now the Republican has contracted the virus himself

• Ronaldo complains about "disrespect for me as a man and as a player":

  Cristiano Ronaldo is annoyed by the rumors about a possible departure from Juventus Turin.

  Now the football star first got a basket from Madrid - then his anger unloaded on Instagram

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Have a good day.

Heartfelt,

Your Philipp Wittrock