Team building on Elmau
The G7 summit of the leading (democratic) industrial nations at the Bavarian Schloss Elmau continues today.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is expected to join in from Kyiv.
Later, topics such as climate protection and the global shortage of food as a result of the war in Ukraine will be discussed.
Sure, such peaks are of course always a bit of chatter.
There is no shortage of big words, politicians shake hands with a mountain backdrop.
The thing costs money (170 million euros), an entire valley is cordoned off by the police.
So the question is allowed: does it all have to be?
The answer is yes.
In the new world disorder, it is imperative that key democracies come together to agree on some minimum level of common action.
To do this, they have to reassure themselves again and again – also symbolically – of their mutual sympathy and solidarity.
It's about team building in a world where there are more and more single players.
The pat on the back, the family photo and the personal meeting of the heads of state are important for this.
A few Zoom meetings are not enough.
At this G7 summit, the West is consciously sending out a signal for cooperation, democracy and multilateralism, against politicians like Vladimir Putin (or Donald Trump) who think they can do whatever they want.
If these peaks didn't exist, they would have to be invented.
Seven years after Merkel-Obama photo: G7 participants pose in front of famous wooden bench
You can find more news and background information on the war in Ukraine here:
"I am firmly convinced that President Putin can no longer win this war":
According to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Russia must suffer a "strategic defeat" in Ukraine.
She also advocates telling Vladimir Putin “to his face what we think of him”.
We gas junkies:
the Americans warned, as did the Eastern Europeans.
But Germany was buying more and more from Russia, and one minister exulted: "Gas is sexy." A SPIEGEL team has reconstructed the history of the once-in-a-century mistake.
"If they were Ukrainian soldiers, I would of course have a lump in my throat":
The Russian army has suffered high casualties, even months after fighting, dead people are still being found.
what happens to them
On the way with those who recover dead enemies.
How Kaliningrad became the new focal point:
In recent decades, no other Russian territory has been used politically and militarily by Russia's leadership as a club against the West as often as Kaliningrad.
Apparently it's time again.
What does a price cap for Russian oil bring?
Speaking of chatter: Contrary to some expectations, the G7 format could be as productive this time as it hasn't been for a long time.
The summit participants want to agree on a number of points during their deliberations at Schloss Elmau, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
US President Joe Biden's delegation said the G7 will announce an import ban on Russian gold as a further punitive measure against Russia.
Doing so would rob Russia of tens of billions of dollars in revenue.
There is also talk of setting a price cap for Russian oil in order to limit the profits that Moscow makes from exports.
The question is, however, whether large buyer countries such as China or India would participate.
For this reason, some EU representatives are also skeptical about the plan, which is mainly being pursued by the USA.
An initiative to reduce China's global influence has already been decided.
The project is called
»Partnership for Global Infrastructure«.
A total of 600 billion US dollars is to be made available for infrastructure projects in poorer countries by 2027 in order to offer these states an alternative to Chinese financial aid.
Economic column on the G7 meeting: This summit must save the West
US left want to punish right-wing judges
The Supreme Court's abortion ruling divides the United States.
Protests against the Supreme Court erupted almost across the country over the weekend and are likely to continue in the coming weeks and months.
The Democrats are again debating whether the party should seek to increase the number of Supreme Court justices from nine to 13.
The majority ratios are to be changed again in favor of a more moderate position.
The catch
is that the party lacks a majority in Congress for such an increase in the court.
US President Joe Biden is also not a fan of this so-called court packing.
At the same time, party leftists like MP Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are bringing up impeachment proceedings against the four ultra-conservative judges on the Supreme Court.
She accuses them of various breaches of their oath of office.
In theory, the Democrats, with their majority in the House of Representatives, could actually initiate such impeachment proceedings against the judges.
Similar to the case of Donald Trump, these are likely to fail in the Senate at the latest because of the Republicans.
America at the Turning Point: The Attack on Fundamental Rights
Black-Green in Kiel and Düsseldorf
In Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia, the formation of governments is almost complete after the state elections in May.
Depending on the situation, there will be black-green alliances in both federal states.
In Schleswig-Holstein, party meetings of the CDU and the Greens will vote today on the formation of a joint government.
The delegates have a 244-page coalition agreement in front of them, which the leaders of both parties have negotiated.
There is no doubt that both party congresses agreed.
Meanwhile, the official ceremony for signing the first black-green coalition agreement is taking place in Düsseldorf.
Previously, the state party conferences of the CDU and the Greens had given their blessing to the contract at the weekend.
This week, CDU man Hendrik Wüst is to be elected prime minister in the Düsseldorf state parliament.
The new state cabinet will then be presented.
Black-Green in North Rhine-Westphalia: Is Germany's future coalition already governing here?
loser of the day...
...
is the Bavarian Prime Minister and CSU boss Markus Söder.
If Söder had first become a Union candidate and then chancellor last year, he should now be holding the big G7 summit in Elmau.
As is well known, however, Olaf Scholz is the head of government and is at the center of events, Söder only has a supporting role.
Or, as legendary colleague Baby Schimmerlos would have said, he is an adobei.
Söder wouldn't be Söder if he didn't try to get the maximum out of the matter anyway.
Unfortunately something goes wrong.
For example: Söder welcomed US President Joe Biden with traditional costume groups at Munich Airport.
That may be meant nicely, but unfortunately it once again gives the impression abroad that the clocks stopped in Germany 200 years ago (and not just at the CSU).
Söder then sent a little picture via Twitter in which he shouted “Grüß Gott in Bayern” to the six foreign G7 guests.
However, Söder left out the Social Democrat Scholz.
Söder's excuse: "The Chancellor is not a foreign state guest, but the Chancellor.
And Bavaria still definitely belongs to Germany.
That's the way it should stay.« Sure.
Welcome on Twitter: Söder welcomes all G7 bosses – except for Scholz
Here's the current quiz of the day
The starting question today: How many people used cocaine in Europe in 2021?
The latest news from the night
Cannabis use puts a strain on health systems:
according to the latest United Nations drug report, hashish and marijuana are gaining ground in the market.
Together with regular consumption, this leads to an increase in addiction and mental illness in Western Europe.
Organizers report hundreds of arrests at the Pride Parade in Istanbul:
Security forces tried to prevent an LGBTQ rally in Istanbul with tough action.
The parade had previously been banned, but hundreds of people still marched through the city streets.
Grandstand collapsed in Colombian bullring – several dead:
During a bullfight in El Espinal, a three-story wooden grandstand partially collapsed.
Several people died and more than 60 others were injured.
The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today
Why the vaccination requirement in care is not progressing:
A fine of 2500 euros is threatened – such a penalty has never been known.
The law on compulsory vaccination for healthcare professionals is useless in practice.
In case of doubt, the coercive measure can simply be waited out.
The political pensioner who is supposed to save his unruly country:
"I'm just a grandfather in the service of the institutions," is how Mario Draghi describes himself. He's a star in Europe - but at home he has to fight for reforms.
Why is he doing this to himself?
»We have the feeling that we are not wanted«:
Biofuels at filling stations could soon be a thing of the past.
The head of the oilseed lobby accuses the government of being unreliable and warns of the consequences of an exit.
"I'm worried about our democracy": Will
the loser in the 2024 election declare himself president?
NYT boss Joe Kahn explains how Donald Trump's disinformation campaign is catching on, which media he thinks are equal - and why he advises against Twitter battles.
May contain traces of "Tatort":
The series "Strafe" is about mostly very bad deeds, which RTL + filmed based on a collection by author Ferdinand von Schirach.
In six episodes, six filmmakers allow us to look into the abysses of humanity.
I wish you a good start into the day.
Yours, Roland Nelles
