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Robert Habeck, the green black painter

2022-01-11T16:40:58.375Z


Germany's economics minister makes a cash fall in the climate. Europe says goodbye to a "rhetorical titan". And Germany's largest predator sets a birth record. That is the situation on Tuesday evening.


1. Green black painter

The Greens could not negotiate a speed limit on German autobahns in the coalition agreement with the FDP and the SPD.

On the other hand, Robert Habeck, as Minister of Economic Affairs, now has a pretty free run on climate protection: "We have to get faster," he demanded today at a press conference in Berlin.

His opening balance, on which he announced the massive expansion of renewable energies, lasted over an hour.

So far, renewable energies have made up 42 percent of Germany's electricity supply.

It took 30 years to do that.

Now they have eight years to bring the proportion to 80 percent, as agreed in the coalition agreement.

"Habeck is a gifted political salesman and today he found beautiful language images to warn citizens that the climate protection targets were not met," says my colleague Gerald Traufetter from our capital city office.

From now on, however, Habeck will "no longer be measured by his words, but by his deeds."

Enlarge image

Robert Habeck

Photo: Frederic Kern / Future Image / IMAGO

Perhaps that is why Habeck made the short walk from the ministry to the federal press conference without a company car, but on foot.

In doing so, he not only saved exhaust emissions, but also subtly drew attention to the warming of the earth's atmosphere.

In any case, Habeck was traveling without a winter coat.

Overall, there is a considerable backlog in climate protection at all levels, the minister said in a rather gloomy way.

Germany must triple its efforts to become greener in all areas.

Above all, far too little has been done in this country with the expansion of wind energy, especially with the expansion of wind energy.

Habeck intends to launch a first climate protection package by the end of April, and a second in summer.

They are intended to help Germany increase the share of renewable energies to 80 percent by 2030 and become climate neutral by 2045.

  • Read here: The Makers Minister

2.

Farewell to Europe's anchorman

Like many European politicians who do not speak German, the President of the European Parliament David Sassoli, who died yesterday, was probably not known to many citizens of this country.

That's a shame, because anyone who reads the obituary of the SPIEGEL correspondent Markus Becker in Brussels learns that the Italian Sassoli was an ideal candidate for the post of Parliamentary President: he had a clear stance against right-wing populism that was rampant all over Europe, he could Formulate it clearly and sharply and he had charisma.

In his first career as a television journalist, Sassoli learned to develop "tremendous effects" in public appearances, says Jens Geier, head of the SPD group in the EU Parliament.

"He was a rhetorical titan."

The Palatinate social democrat Ismail Ertug puts it this way: "At the end of the day he was Italian, in a positive sense."

Enlarge image

David Sassoli

Photo:

Insidefoto / IMAGO

Ten days before Christmas, Sassoli awarded the imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny the European Parliament's Sakharov Prize. In the bitter legal dispute with Poland, he sued the EU Commission on behalf of parliament to force them to cut funding for constitutional offenders such as Poland and Hungary. He even ventured into conflict with the German government by demanding at the December summit that Europe should relax its debt rules and should "no longer be hostage to the three percent deficit rule."

At this point in time, "Sassoli was already in poor health," remembers Markus Becker.

In September he had suffered pneumonia caused by Legionella, according to Italian media reports.

According to his spokesman, overnight he succumbed to a serious complication due to a dysfunction of the immune system.

Markus Becker remembers: "Sassoli was a very pleasant conversation partner - he was humorous, unpretentious, had an infectious laugh and made you feel at eye level, which is by no means always the case among top politicians."

  • Read the obituary here: The Anchorman of Europe

3. The good news still exists

It looks bleak.

At least if you look at Germany through the glasses of the SPIEGEL editors, who regularly update the »Corona update« on our homepage with the latest news of the day: Half of Europe could have been infected with the virus by March, one fears World Health Organization forecast.

An early decision in the Bundestag on compulsory vaccination in Germany is becoming increasingly unlikely.

And the incidence on Sylt skyrocketed to over 1500 after a Christmas party - possibly because some guests presented fake vaccination certificates.

Now the police are investigating.

Enlarge image

To protect the animals, people should rather keep their distance

Photo: Rainer Jensen / dpa

But if you look away from Sylt and Corona out to sea, the island of Helgoland appears on the horizon.

It's still there, the good news.

Conservationists today reported a record number of births from Germany's largest predator.

The gray seal population is recovering.

Gray seals once contested the fishermen's catch - that is why they were almost extinct in the North Sea.

On Heligoland, however, a new high has been reached again in the 2021/22 litter season, said Rebecca Ballstaedt, the protected area manager of the Jordsand Association responsible for the gray seals.

669 animals have been born so far.

The gray seal pups are particularly sensitive to the first few weeks of their lives.

The white "baby fur" of the young animals protects against wind and cold, but is not waterproof.

For this reason, the little seals are dependent on lying on sections of the beach that are protected from flooding in the first few weeks - and they do so undisturbed.

So a little bad news at the end: The beaches on Heligoland have been closed to visitors since November.

  • Read the Corona update here: Bavaria remains with 2G for restaurants

(Would you like to have the "Situation in the evening" conveniently delivered to your inbox by email? Here you can order the daily briefing as a newsletter.)

What else is important today

  • Raid against opencast mine operators due to flood disaster:

    After the devastating demolition of a gravel pit during the flood in Erftstadt, the police are taking action against the operator of the opencast mine.

    He is suspected of contributing to the disaster.

  • Another record for global warming of the oceans:

    The oceans are absorbing more and more heat from the atmosphere.

    Researchers from the USA and China report: The stored energy rose to a record level in 2021 - for the sixth time in a row.

  • German airlines delay the reimbursement of tickets particularly often:

    If flights are severely delayed or canceled completely, passengers have the right to a reimbursement.

    An evaluation now suggests: German airlines are among the worst performers in terms of payouts.

  • More than a million people died in one year:

    in 2021, more than a million deaths were registered in Germany - a record figure, in December alone there were a good 100,000.

    The official corona statistics only partially explain the increase.

What we recommend today at SPIEGEL +

  • Has his positive PCR test been manipulated ?:

    Tennis star Novak Djoković claims to have tested positive for Corona on December 16.

    But the digital test result says something different.

    That and an alleged misstatement could now be a turning point.

  • The power-play of Mr Macron:

    With his nuclear policy, the French president has demonstrated that he dominates European politics almost at will.

    The federal government retains the seat in the front passenger seat.

  • An unsightly mess:

    The Christmas business went brilliantly for US retailers, but now comes the big end: Returns cause an avalanche of costs.

    Much ends up in the trash.

  • I only brake for speed cameras:

    drivers often drive much faster than allowed.

    Shortly before fixed speed cameras, however, they meticulously adhere to the speed limits - only to then accelerate vigorously.

    This is impressively demonstrated by new data from German cities.

  • How I tried to understand Erasmus +:

    With the Erasmus + program, the EU not only wants to support students, but people of all ages.

    So me too, a middle-aged worker?

    Finding that out is more complicated than I thought.

Which is less important today

Was the logo with the sticking out tongue of the

Rolling Stones

always intended for licking stamps?

In any case, the British Royal Mail has now honored the rock band with its own stamp series.

The stamps feature group portraits of the musicians as well as recordings of legendary concerts by the band - from an early black and white photo from London's Hyde Park in 1969 to a performance in Düsseldorf in 2017. This year the Stones are celebrating 60th anniversary.

Typo of the day

, now corrected: "Therefore it is 'a question of character to ask the vote of confidence now to ensure a majority in this coalition' and to enforce the vaccination obligation."

Cartoon of the day:

headline with a link to the photo gallery

And tonight?

A quarter of all people in Germany already listen to a podcast at least once a month.

That is what the Hans Bredow Institute in Hamburg found out.

If you have yet to enter the world of podcasts or if you are still undecided which podcast to start over while you are preparing your dinner, the SPIEGEL audio editors around Olaf Heuser and Lenne Kaffka have collected suggestions.

How about, for example, the six-part podcast »Merkel Years«.

In it, Deutschlandfunk journalists Steffen Detjen and Tom Schimmeck explore the “improbable path of Angela M.” Last name: Kasner, childhood places: Quitzow near Perleberg and the Fichtengrund house on the Templiner Waldhof, role models: “Pop singers, gymnasts, figure skaters, dancers, world travelers and magician «.

Who doesn't immediately think of Angela Merkel?

Enlarge image

Or how about a podcast about the history of the Chippendales.

“Welcome to your Fantasy” traces the beginnings of these male Playboy bunnies and reveals how two men dreamed of a “Disneyland for adults” and turned it into a global phenomenon.

The historian Natalia Petrzela takes the listeners into an American cultural history - a story of sex, money and success as well as corruption, power struggles and a murder case.

My favorite podcats in recent years is "Wind of Change".

The American production goes over several episodes in all seriousness to the question of whether the Scorpions' greatest hit was actually written by the CIA?

Have a nice and exciting evening,


your Anna Clauss

Here you can order the "Lage am Abend" by email.

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-01-11

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