The situation in the morning: reacting instead of governing

Today it is about the vaccination requirement that unnecessarily failed in the Bundestag and the consequences, about our hesitation and procrastination in the fight against the war criminals in the Kremlin and about the first black female judge on the US Supreme Court.

Hesitation and procrastination

A peculiar trait seems to be characteristic of us

:

and see how things develop and

Seen in this way, Chancellor

and his predecessor

are governing in a very German way.

Or better: they react.

Because we Germans are great at reacting.

At the same time, we really like to trust the traditional for a long time

we radically dare to try something new.

Because caution is the mother of the porcelain box.

Let's always say so nice.

Unfortunately, this

is fully reflected in the two major crises of this time -

.

instead of our benefit.

Example 1: compulsory vaccination

That failed in an unworthy manner in the Bundestag on Thursday.

Because the chancellor didn't want to lead for more than four months and his traffic light coalition didn't want to commit to it.

And because the Union, the former chancellor's party, would have liked to have had vaccinations (that's the way it is, dear Markus Söder, Hendrik Wüst and Daniel Günther, isn't it?), but preferred to celebrate party-political small-small in parliament.

And so we will probably go into the next autumn and winter without the necessary broad basic immunity.

You will then – exactly – have

.

If too many old and unvaccinated people end up in the hospital, society as a whole will pay with restrictions.

It is the pattern of German corona policy: only intervene when it is almost too late.

Don't go in creative, preventative ways.

A policy that exhausts itself only in reaction cannot prevent future crises.

The failed vaccination requirement is only the most recent, but also a striking example.

German scientists developed the vaccine, but the country failed to order it in large quantities in good time and to build up large production capacities at an early stage.

A no-Covid strategy has never been tried to keep the previously less transmissible virus in check and thereby allow more freedom.

There was always only shutdown or non-shutdown.

Windows open and closed instead of air filters, ongoing corona rules instead of compulsory vaccination, household remedies instead of high-tech.

And soon there is a threat again: winter in isolation and quarantine instead of freedom.

Don't dare anything new.

This morning, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, RKI boss Lothar Wieler and intensive care doctor Gernot Marx will answer questions about the infection process.

The failure of compulsory vaccination will probably be the central issue.

• Commentary on the failure of compulsory vaccination: Ordered leadership – got a fiasco

Example 2: Ukraine

For years we have relied on partnership with Putin, both SPD and Union-led governments have maneuvered ourselves into economic dependency.

The German Ostpolitik of the last 30 years has failed, other Europeans had warned.

And now?

Why does this country continue to shy away from arms shipments?

Putin leads campaign of annihilation against Ukraine;

We have 100 Marder tanks about to be scrapped.

German leadership?

none.

"Today I fear German power less than German inactivity," said the then Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski a good ten years ago.

Germany is currently acting like a giant that first waits and then shuffles behind.

First peep carefully through the door gap, let the others run ahead - and when the coast is clear: follow.

If someone then says: "What's the matter with you?", then we say: "Why?

We're in!'

Chancellor Scholz is traveling to London today for an inaugural visit to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

It will, of course, be about Putin's attack on Ukraine and Western values, certainly also about the Russian war crimes in Bucha and elsewhere - as well as the question that everyone asks themselves every day in the face of horror: What to do?

You can find more news and background information on the war in Ukraine here:

• That happened at night:

  After the Bucha horror, even worse discoveries could be waiting in Mariupol and Borodyanka.

  President Zelenskyj demands weapons.

  And: Finland is heading towards a NATO application.

  The overview

• Russian soldiers discussed atrocities against civilians over the radio:

  The images of murdered civilians from Bucha shock the world.

  According to SPIEGEL information, the BND recorded the radio traffic of suspected perpetrators.

  Accordingly, the brutal acts are part of the strategy of Putin's army

• How Russia is kidnapping Ukrainian citizens:

  The Russian government is taking Ukrainians from the war zone to the Far East of their own country.

  Kyiv speaks of deportation.

  Those who have neither money nor connections run the risk of being stranded in Russia

• "Russia is setting itself a geopolitical trap":

  internal repression, external aggression: Putin's actions follow a well-known pattern, says historian and Stalin biographer Stephen Kotkin.

  One where the country has been failing for decades

Winner of the day...

…is the American constitutional

.

The US Senate has confirmed US President Joe Biden's nominee for Supreme Court.

This is the first time that a black woman has become a judge in the US Supreme Court.

Biden nominated the 51-year-old liberal lawyer in February after Judge Stephen Breyer announced his retirement.

Nonetheless, the Conservatives still hold a 6-3 majority among Supreme Court justices.

• US Supreme Court Justice: First black female Supreme Court judge confirmed

The latest news from the night

• Alleged opponent of corona measures is said to have attacked Sigrid Maurer:

  A 26-year-old was arrested in Vienna because he is said to have thrown a glass in Sigrid Maurer's face.

  The alleged attack is said to have been preceded by a discussion about the corona measures

• Attorney General demands $ 10,000 fine for Trump - per day:

  Donald Trump has so far stubbornly refused to hand over important documents to a court in New York.

  That could soon become very expensive for the ex-US President

• Post boss will be the new head of the Telekom supervisory board:

  He will have two jobs at large German companies until May next year: Frank Appel will take over as chairman of the supervisory board at Telekom.

  There is criticism of the personnel decision

The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today

• Future handling of Corona: "Nobody will be able to avoid getting infected"

• Expensive change: Why bus and train are often not an alternative for families

• Elon Musk on Twitter: When the troll buys the store

• The federal government's "Easter package": the gaps in Habeck's climate plan

I wish you a good start into the day.

Yours Sebastian Fischer