The morning situation - Will we be the Netherlands?

Today it is about the questions of what the government wants to do against the impending Omikron wave, what Olaf Scholz wants to achieve in Rome - and why the CSU could need a new leitmotif.

Leberkäs and laser

The CDU has a new chairman - strictly speaking not yet finally elected - and he cannot be ignored.

ventured into

over the weekend

. He accused the FDP of having broken election promises. He accuses Health Minister Karl Lauterbach of exaggerating far too much. He found the government declaration by Olaf Scholz "incomplete".

Merz

only

had a few warm words

for

: He is counting on a good "and also friendly" relationship between the two party leaders.

Söder also acted unusually tame, on Twitter he predicted a

: "Together and as one, we want to lead the Union to new strength," wrote the CSU boss.

He's just a limitless optimist.

If you look at the numbers,

for the

at the

.

According to a “Civey” survey for the “Augsburger Allgemeine”, more Bavarians are dissatisfied with the work of their Prime Minister (46 percent) than satisfied (41 percent).

On the Sunday question, the CSU only got 33 percent.

So there is no question that it is time to act.

In the Bavarian state parliament, Söder recently gave an opening speech and conjured up the Bavarian attitude towards life - "the right mix of tradition and modernity, of high-tech and home, of Leberkäs and lasers."

Wait a minute, Leberkäs and laser?

In earnest?

Should that be the natural continuation of laptop and lederhosen, the slogan that was created in 1998 by the then Federal President and Bavarian Roman Herzog and which Edmund Stoiber then made famous?

It seems that the Free State urgently needs a new leitmotif.

Do you have any suggestions?

I look forward to your ideas at martin.knobbe@spiegel.de.

You are also welcome to send slogans for other federal states, maybe for the one in which you live.

You can then read a selection of the submissions here in the morning situation over the next few days.

• Read here what Friedrich Merz means for the CDU.

The calm before the storm

So is it coming, the next

?

Are we experiencing a collective déjà vu?

The decision of the

to paralyze public life once again is not encouraging.

And the news from Great Britain about how quickly the new variant is spreading is also not good for lightening the mood.

The newly formed 19-member

lists a clear forecast in its first, unanimously adopted opinion. The doubling time of the

assumed in Germany

is currently two to four days, the scientists write. »If the spread of the Omikron variant in Germany continues, a relevant part of the population would be ill and / or in quarantine at the same time. As a result, the health system and the entire critical infrastructure of our country would be extremely stressed. "

But what can be done about it?

Do

or at least changed?

The Expert Council is reluctant to give specific details.

"Effective nationwide coordinated countermeasures to control the infection process must be prepared, in particular well-planned and well-communicated contact restrictions," the authors write.

What that doesn't mean, at least Karl Lauterbach has already announced.

The Minister of Health does not currently see a lockdown at Christmas.

• Analysis: What Makes Omikron So Dangerous?

The 30 million trick

Yesterday there was good news: The

, Major General Carsten Breuer, announced that the goal set by the federal government of

administering

by the end of the year

could be achieved.

It would be a first great sense of achievement for Chancellor Scholz and his traffic light government.

To be too good to be true.

My colleague Claus Hecking has taken a close look at all the statements and figures on this promise and has come to the conclusion: Something should be calculated nicely.

In fact, after the

on November 18

, Scholz

spoke for the first time about the 30 million vaccinations by the end of the year - at the time at the side of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

However, at this point he only meant the booster or booster vaccinations.

"If those who were vaccinated almost six months ago get a third vaccination now, then by the end of the year that will amount to almost - not quite - 30 million booster vaccinations," said the Vice-Chancellor at the time, calling it a "big one." Effort".

During his celebrated appearance at »Joko & Klaas« on December 1st on ProSieben, Scholz varied his goal: Now he spoke of 30 million vaccinations by Christmas, but meant first, second and booster vaccinations together.

It would be an ambitious goal: 1.25 million doses would have to be inoculated between December 1st and December 24th to achieve it.

Perhaps that is why Scholz subtly extended the period in his government statement on Wednesday.

Now he spoke of 30 million doses - first, second and third vaccinations - from the end of November "until the end of the year".

What basis does the general take for his

?

Quite simply: the longest possible.

Instead of in the narrower period from December 1 to Christmas, Breuer counts the inoculated doses from November 18 - the day on which Scholz mentioned the number for the first time, but in a different context - and extrapolates it to December 31.

Lo and behold: Instead of 1.25 million cans, you only need 682,000 cans per day to get to 30 million in the end.

Suddenly it fits what would never have been suitable before.

• How Omikron is rolling over Europe - an overview.

An approach

Countless

has

already completed, Joe Biden called for example, or Justin Trudeau from Canada.

But it is a good tradition for a new head of government to visit his closest allies in person very quickly.

Scholz has already been to France, Brussels and Warsaw, today

on the program.

A quick visit to Prime Minister

, which could be decisive in rewarming the cold contacts between the two countries.

Most recently, France and Italy in particular had converged, as they are united in their interest in loosening the strict fiscal criteria within the EU. Both countries signed a

agreement, the so-called Quirinals Treaty. The aim of the German Chancellor is likely to be to forge ties with both countries.

If things go well,

and

a

within the EU, they could become the engine of the progressive.

The prerequisites for this are not that bad: The chemistry between Emmanuel Macron and Scholz seems to be right, and Draghi and the German Chancellor also know and understand each other.

After all, one was the German finance minister and the other head of the European Central Bank.

If only it weren't for the annoying conflict over the Maastricht criteria.

• Olaf Scholz at the EU summit in Brussels: With a clenched fist.

Appointment of the day ...

... is a press conference by the

on new findings about the

.

Probably everyone knows stories from friends or relatives about how long-lasting and how strange the long-term effects of a corona disease can sometimes show.

However, getting a complete picture of Long-Covid is not that easy.

The Mainz scientists are trying their Gutenberg Covid-19 study.

I am looking forward to the results.

Above all, because the researchers interpret the term “long-term effects” broadly.

»The Gutenberg Covid-19 study not only examines the direct effects of a possible Sars-CoV-2 infection and Covid-19 disease, but also comprehensively examines the effects of the pandemic and the measures taken to combat it on the health of the population «Write the researchers.

• Read here how long Long Covid can last.

The latest news from the night

• Right-wing populist of German origin loses runoff election in Chile:

  Gabriel Boric clearly prevailed against José António Kast.

  The ultra-conservative has already congratulated his competitor

• Musical about Princess Diana discontinued - after only five weeks:

  The reviews had been devastating: Now the musical about the life of Lady Di is history.

  In addition to the bad press, the pandemic had also affected production

• New benefits for parents immediately after the birth:

  Two weeks vacation with full salary - according to Family Minister Anne Spiegel in Germany, this should soon become the rule for a parent after the birth of a child

The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today

• Immigration Debate: Why Germany Needs More Migration

• Moral indulgence for Christmas: I want to donate - but to whom?

• Historians track down hundreds of documents: They give Magdeburg back memory

• Cinema documentary about the most expensive painting in the world: Leonardesque as Leonardo would have painted

I wish you a good start into the day - and into the Christmas week

Your Martin Knobbe