Today it's about the change of power at »Bild«, the balance of power in the future Bundestag presidium, the question of power in the EU Parliament and the powerlessness of Steve Bannon.
Was there something?
Today at 11 o'clock there is a staff meeting of the »Bild« editorial team.
Axel Springer publisher Matthias Döpfner will introduce the new editor-in-chief after the company announced yesterday evening that
Julian Reichelt had been relieved of his duties
.
According to the announcement, there were "new findings" about Reichelt's misconduct that led to his replacement.
New insights?
Reichelt's affairs with employees had already been the subject of an internal investigation and were described by SPIEGEL under the heading "Birds, encourages, fires".
According to Axel Springer, further cases came to light after the investigation was over.
But they were more of the same than really new.
In the “Reichelt System” the powerful editor-in-chief was apparently able to seduce, promote and at some point drop young volunteers or interns who were particularly dependent on him.
New are not only unpleasant details, but also that they were in the "New York Times" on Sunday, not as before in the German media, where the CEO of a company like Döpfner was obviously able to let such methods pass without any problems. In the USA, the home country of Springer investor KKR, such processes are less easy to see. Here the publisher is under special observation after the recent takeover of the news portal »Politico«.
What is even more embarrassing and worse is that the colleagues from the investigative team at the publishing house Ippen, who had been researching the allegations for months
, were prevented from publishing at the last minute by their publisher
. The protest of the editors was in vain. According to Max Raabe's motto, “It's not a problem for women. They'll get their secrets out «that's why my colleague Isabell Hülsen and the Ippen reporter Juliane Löffler and their teams have unceremoniously bundled their findings in a report that sheds new light on the depths of the Reichelt system.
"When it became clear that the story would not appear at Ippen, collaboration was the logical and best way to go," says my colleague Isabell Hülsen.
"And proof that sometimes history is more important than competitive thinking."
Ex- »Bild« editor-in-chief: Why Julian Reichelt had to go
Is that gonna be what?
Today the Berlin Left Party is holding a special party conference to
decide
whether to
start
coalition talks for a red-red-green alliance in the capital
.
However, the delegates are likely to reject the project.
In this case, the state of Berlin would be provisionally governed by a commission made up of OSCE election observers with equal representation.
No, just kidding.
I just wanted to make sure, dear reader, that you would stay awake at this early hour.
And would such a model not be trusted in Berlin, maybe even its salvation?
After the chaos on election day and the resignation of the election officer, it was announced yesterday that the documents of the Green politician Andreas Otto from Pankow for his mandate in the House of Representatives were inadvertently sent to the FDP candidate Andreas Otto in Reinickendorf.
It goes without saying that the Left Party Congress will most likely vote in favor of the coalition talks.
In Berlin, the future traffic light government parties are also preparing for their negotiations and putting together their teams.
In addition, the question of what the future Presidium of the Bundestag will look like is becoming more and more urgent, because the constituent meeting on October 26 is approaching.
Well, and there it is again, the question of women!
Isn't it enough if women bring down tabloid editors-in-chief?
Or to sing it with Max Raabe:
"You swing speeches in parliament
Riding through the Orient
And manage a space station in space
Taming tigers, throwing knives
Knowing everything better
Getting the trophy in women's football"
So does it have to be women in the Bundestag Presidium?
Yes and no, thinks the SPD, women are of course very important, but so is Rolf Mützenich, who, as the previous SPD parliamentary group leader, probably needs a new, attractive position.
If you, dear reader, read this situation on Tuesday morning, from the author's point of view you are living in the future, because this text will be written late on Monday evening, when it is not yet clear whether Mützenich will take office as president.
A meeting of important SPD people on the subject is still ongoing.
So you may already know more than I do now.
If Mützenich takes up the position, the most important state offices of the republic could end up being with men: Scholz (Chancellor), Mützenich (President of the Bundestag), Frank-Walter Steinmeier (President), Bodo Ramelow (President of the Bundesrat) and Stephan Harbarth (Federal Constitutional Court).
The situation is no better with the Bundestag vice-presidents: The FDP could nominate Wolfgang Kubicki again, who is really anything but a woman.
The AfD will be happy if it even gets a vice president this time, regardless of gender.
Practically two women, Annette Widmann-Mauz and Monika Grütters, compete at the Union, so that the laughing third here could be Michael Grosse-Brömer.
Are all other parties just relying on the Greens and Left to deliver a few women?
And will the basic parliamentary rule be broken for the first time that the strongest parliamentary group (SPD) is allowed to occupy the office of president?
Then, for example, the Green Katrin Göring-Eckardt could also become President of the Bundestag.
The "Bild" newspaper reported on this speculation.
House of Representatives in Berlin: Objection to your own election
Where is this supposed to end?
When national heads of government appear in the European Parliament, it becomes either solemn or heated.
In the second category, the appearance of Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in 2003, when he recommended his critic, the then President of Parliament Martin Schulz, to apply for the role of a concentration camp guard, will not be forgotten.
Today's speech by the Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki
in the plenary session of the EU Parliament is unlikely to be that
insulting
.
The mood between Poland and the EU is much worse than it was between Berlusconi's Italy and the EU.
Poland is pushing ahead with the dismantling of its rule of law, and all attempts from Brussels to intervene with more or less harsh measures have only hardened the fronts.
Now the EU Commission is postponing the payment of 58 billion euros for Poland from the Corona reconstruction fund, as well as the billion-dollar loans and cheap loans that Poland is actually entitled to.
Morawiecki will certainly address this decision, the only question is how sharply he will address EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who will also be in the room.
Few issues in the EU are as tricky as the question of how to deal with Poland.
How should this conflict be resolved?
Court ruling against EU law: Warsaw declares war on Europe
Who should pay for that?
Germans love rules, yet they cheerfully evade taxes - how does that fit together?
The historian Korinna Schönhärl has done a lot of research on the subject, and in an entertaining interview with my colleague David Böcking she makes it clear:
"There was always evasion,"
even during the German Empire.
But did you know that
at the beginning of the 1970s, German taxpayers were considered "one of the most honest in the world"
?
However, there would never have been a valid empirical basis for this, says Schönhärl, because how can you reliably measure the extent of tax evasion?
In surveys, however, the Germans have shown increasingly better tax morale over the decades, according to Schönhärl.
So the goodwill seems to be there.
Actually, there was only one question left in the interview: whether in the course of history the election results of the FDP and the tax morals of the Germans can somehow be put into context.
Researcher on Effective Fiscal Policy: How Can the State Improve Tax Morale?
Loser of the day ...
... is
Steve Bannon
.
Today, the House of Representatives committee charged with clearing up the January 6th storm on the U.S. Capitol will deliberate on how to deal with the confidante of ex-President Donald Trump.
Because Bannon refused to testify before the panel.
He is touring the country and celebrating the riots on January 6 at pro-Trump rallies.
But when it comes to answering MEPs' questions, the small supply of free courtesy seems to have been used up.
The committee no longer wants to accept Bannon's disregard of his subpoenas and is considering criminal proceedings.
Bannon could end up in jail.
MPs are determined to find out whether the attack on the Capitol should turn out to be a deliberately planned coup.
Let's see how long Bannon can hold out his refusal.
The latest news from the night
"He will be remembered as one of our great Americans":
Colin Powell is dead - and Joe Biden mourns the loss of a "patriot of unsurpassed honor and dignity."
George W. Bush is reminiscent of a "great public servant" and Heiko Maas of a "straightforward foreign politician".
The reactions at a glance
Trump sues committee to storm the US Capitol:
The role of Donald Trump comes into focus when coming to terms with the events of January 6th.
Now the investigative committee wants to see papers from the White House.
But the ex-president is resisting
Women's rights group sues against Miss France competition
: A French women's rights group accuses Miss France producers of discrimination.
She relies on a similar lawsuit by a male candidate
The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today
Private car rental in the US: Airbnb on wheels
With the banks against global warming: Brussels' dangerous bureaucratic plan for the climate
The true story of legendary German criminals: among robbers of his time, the »Schinderhannes« was considered a sausage
Sports psychologist on mental problems after taking part in the Olympics: "Some sit in their old children's rooms and ask themselves: What now?"
I wish you a good start to the day.
Your Melanie Amann