Today it's about the pressure on Joe Biden, a Polish bill and the Bayern Munich debacle.
Biden in Europe
US President Joe Biden is setting off on a trip to Europe today.
First he will attend the G20 summit in Rome, then the UN climate conference in Glasgow.
In Rome he meets the Executive Chancellor Angela Merkel.
A president arrives who has disappointed.
It couldn't be otherwise because the expectations were so high.
Biden should be a savior, an anti-Trump after the dark years with Trump.
It's gotten better too.
No more crazy tweets, a commitment to multilateralism, normal politics.
But not any more.
The enthusiasm is gone, the first disaster has happened, the head-over-the-air withdrawal from Afghanistan, which made it easy for the Taliban to conquer power at lightning speed.
The main problem with a weak anti-Trump is Trump.
For him it is a chance to become president again and to ruin democracy in his country for good.
The Struggle for Power in the US: How Donald Trump Prepares His Comeback
Whining in Frankfurt
Today the Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) meets in Frankfurt am Main.
He does this every two weeks, and most of the time no spectacular decisions are made. This meeting is interesting because the Governing Council has now become famous as
the body that Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann can no longer stand
. But he has to do it again today.
Today is another day when the ECB President Christine Lagarde will chair the meeting and not Weidmann, who would have liked to have her job.
Today is another day on which he could propose that the ECB should not underestimate the dangers of inflation, that low interest rates for companies and states cannot be the only goal of monetary policy.
He evidently did this a lot, but he couldn't get through, and that's enough for him now.
At the end of the year he's gone.
He's sure to find a nice job in the financial sector.
And hopefully there will be a successor who is no less cranky.
Inflation and interest rates: what the Weidmann exit means for the monetary policy of the ECB
Time to object
The official journal for Berlin is usually not a read that is eagerly awaited.
This was different with today's edition, as it published the official final result of the elections for the Berlin House of Representatives and the district council assemblies (great word, only 3 letters less than Donaudampfschifffahrtsgesellschaft).
Only now can you appeal against it.
That will happen soon.
The elections on September 26th were in part chaotic
, so the regional returning officer resigned.
Your deputy will now appeal to the Berlin Constitutional Court against the election result, as will some parties.
The House of Representatives elections may have to be repeated in at least two constituencies.
Maybe the new airport can be built right away.
He was not up to the rush in the autumn break.
But it could take a while to finish.
House of Representatives in Berlin: Objection to your own election
Marriage not for everyone
The Polish Parliament is today at first reading on a bill that
would ban LGBT demonstration stations
.
You should not then hold meetings promoting marriage for all or the right of adoption for homosexual couples.
The draft law goes back to a citizens' initiative that was able to collect so many signatures for it that parliament has to deal with it.
That doesn't mean he'll get through in the end.
But the very fact that there is such a draft shows the pressure under which homosexuals have to live in Poland.
And it shows once again how far the ideas in Europe diverge.
Fight for freedom, democracy and the rule of law: The EU must turn off the money in Poland
Loser of the day ...
… Is
FC Bayern Munich
, who lost 5-0 to Borussia Mönchengladbach yesterday evening and were eliminated from the DFB Cup in the second round.
Football is sometimes puzzling, a team that constantly wins 4-0 suddenly loses 0-5.
A bad day?
Or football is sensitive to things that happen beyond the pitch.
Bayern's coach Julian Nagelsmann has been in quarantine with Corona for a week and coaches from the kitchen.
Joshua Kimmich caused a considerable stir with his doubts about the corona vaccination.
Defender Lucas Hernández faced jail time just before the game.
And then there is still a debate as to whether Bayern should be sponsored by Qatar.
The players have probably been more focused on their game at some point.
And when a team is as hungry and effective as Gladbach, a debacle ensues.
The latest news from the night
US military confirms Chinese test of hypersonic missile:
The chief of staff called China's actions "very worrying": According to the Pentagon, the People's Republic tested a hypersonic missile this month.
The US wants to react
Alec Baldwin case: assistant director admits errors when checking the gun:
"He could only remember seeing three bullets": In the case of Alec Baldwin, an assistant director admitted to not having checked the pistol correctly before the fatal shot
Antidepressant shows success in early treatment of Covid-19:
The antidepressant fluvoxamine could reduce the risk of hospital treatment in some Covid-19 patients.
However, it only helps in the very early stages of the disease
The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today
Europe's brutal isolation: "The order is: Nobody gets through"
Fight for freedom, democracy and the rule of law: The EU must turn off the money in Poland
A week in Frankfurt's Bahnhofsviertel (4/6): »Eating, drinking, drugs, sex«
Autoimmune Diseases and Chronic Inflammation: Other people's feces are their last hope
The story behind the picture: comb, hairspray and dead athletes - when the terror came to Munich
I wish you a good start to the day.
Yours Dirk Kurbjuweit
