Liberal ideologues
The Greens were often denigrated by the liberals as climate ideologues, as a prohibition party, as altogether stubborn and unworldly.
Now you can see: It's rather the other way around, the governing liberals are stubborn and unworldly.
They do not adapt to the world situation, but insist on the debt brake, on their no to redistribution or speed limits.
The Greens, on the other hand, are looking at the problems of this time and are looking for pragmatic solutions.
They are in favor of arms deliveries, although they have pacifist roots, they are temporarily backing coal, although this can harm the climate, they engage in a debate on nuclear power, even though they emerged from the anti-nuclear movement.
They don't do all this to increase their chances of being elected, which is usually the reason for shifts in politics.
They are doing this so that Germany and Europe can get through this crisis better.
The Greens, formerly a protest party, have thus become the German state party, a title previously claimed by the CDU.
The FDP, on the other hand, is in the ideological corner with the Left Party.
Nuclear power plant runtime extension meets with supporters of the Greens
You can find more news and background information on the war in Ukraine here:
New sanctions against Putin's friends, situation at the occupied nuclear power plant "very tense" - that happened at night:
For Putin's followers it is even more uncomfortable.
Experts worry about the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
And: Selenskyj reports on »hell« in Bonbass.
The overview.
First grain freighter from Ukraine arrived in Istanbul:
The "Razoni" left the port of Odessa on Monday - now the first freighter loaded with grain from Ukraine has reached the Bosphorus.
The freighter is now being inspected by the Turkish authorities.
Turbine for gas pipeline is still stuck in Germany:
Russia is delivering less gas through the Baltic Sea pipeline and justifies this with a missing turbine.
According to Siemens Energy, it is still in Germany - Chancellor Scholz finds clear words.
diplomacy and armament
Nancy Pelosi gave a precise description of the larger scope of her visit to Taiwan.
She also came "because the world is faced with a choice between autocracy and democracy".
That is the headline for the new Cold War, in which China and the USA will primarily face each other.
In a way, Pelosi's journey is a starting point, although the argument has been brewing for some time.
We know that the first Cold War, the dispute between socialist and democratic states, was settled peacefully.
Unfortunately, the solution that existed then is not available this time.
It was a peace of exhaustion, the Eastern bloc was not technologically and economically a match for the West in the long term.
This is not to be expected in the new Cold War.
Since China has succeeded in merging repression and a reasonably free market economy, it will catch up technologically with the West and can offer the population economic advancement.
Control mania and oppression do not seem to drive citizens into resistance.
What is the solution then?
An eternal rivalry?
Or the hot war that determines the winner?
What is clear is that the West needs a dual strategy: skilled diplomacy (which doesn't necessarily include Pelosi's visit) and an armament upgrade that deters China from attacking.
US anticipates retaliation after Pelosi's departure
Flying guillotine
Can you be happy about this news?
The US used rockets to kill Aiman al-Zawahiri, leader of al-Qaeda and one of those responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks.
When they had the mastermind of this attack shot by a special unit in 2011, the then Chancellor Merkel said that she was happy about the news and sparked a debate.
Joy, as she saw it herself in the end, is not the right word here.
Is it satisfaction that there is late punishment for the fallen World Trade Center towers and thousands dead?
Yes, I have to admit.
I read the news with a certain satisfaction at first.
But what is this punishment?
A death penalty imposed without trial, carried out by a drone, like a flying guillotine.
A rule of law is not recognizable here, it was the revenge of a superpower that sees itself in the war on terror.
This act completely contradicts my values.
And yet I can't condemn them, I probably have to endure this ambivalence and save myself here with the concept of the gray area.
How the US managed to take out Zawahiri - on his balcony
Truss stumbles
Foreign Minister Liz Truss' election campaign in Great Britain is currently going rather bumpily.
She wants to be prime minister and will face another hustings tonight, a joint appearance with her opponent Rishi Sunak, this time in Cardiff.
After twelve hustings, Conservative Party members elect a new leader by letter.
He or she will then succeed Boris Johnson as Prime Minister.
Truss first angered some Scots when she recommended "ignoring" Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
Now she had to withdraw savings plans because she was flooded with indignation.
So far, Truss has been the favorite.
Scottish government outraged by 'disgusting' statements by Tory favorite Liz Truss
Here is the current quiz of the day
The starting question today: Which German state had the most hours of sunshine in 2021?
loser of the day...
...is the party Die Linke.
You could write that almost every day.
While the Greens are now the number one state party in Germany, the Left is the leading hater party.
The English word »hater« has made it into the German youth jargon and means hater.
Sahra Wagenknecht loves to be hated.
And she likes to give occasions for it, most recently with her statements that the Greens have "made a crazy war against Russia a priority" and that Secretary of State Baerbock would support the US "confrontational course" in the conflict between Taiwan and China.
You can criticize that, of course, but are these really "absurd statements", does it contain "a proper position of madness" and uses Wagenknecht with it "simply twisted polemics", as her parliamentary group colleagues wrote about her?
Can't you deal with Wagenknecht more intelligently and wittily?
On the left, people only hate, no longer argue properly.
The party is currently in opposition.
The latest news from the night
US government sues Idaho over strict abortion law:
For the first time since the Supreme Court's controversial landmark ruling, the Biden administration is taking legal action against planned abortion restrictions.
Target of the lawsuit: the conservative-governed state of Idaho.
Nine years of juvenile detention for the murder of a 14-year-old:
he killed his 14-year-old girlfriend with a stab in the heart – while she was sleeping: a 18-year-old was sentenced to a long prison term by the Munich Regional Court.
The perpetrator confessed.
Armed with a crossbow in the grounds of Windsor Castle:
The man who was arrested armed in the grounds of Windsor Castle at Christmas has to answer in court.
The charge is based on a law of 1842.
The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today
"We can't stand much more for a long time":
Up to 39 degrees are expected in the middle of the week.
Andreas Matzarakis from the German Weather Service explains where the survival threshold lies, how to protect yourself - and which measured values are more important than the temperature.
Why the promises made at traffic lights are worth little:
the government announced a “decade of educational opportunities”.
Now it turns out that the traffic light doesn't seem to take it seriously.
In some federal states even saving is no longer taboo.
This is how Google Maps wants to dominate our lives:
Everything on one map: Google boss Sundar Pichai is expanding the map service into a super app.
That could make the company the most valuable corporation in the world - and revolutionize the balance of power in the economy.
Here's how to unleash your talents (yes, you certainly have talents!):
Why do we find some things easy and others hard?
Is it in the genes – or does it just take practice?
Science has figured out how to boost your talent.
The queen of noise:
With the world hit "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" she became an icon of rockers.
Here Joan Jett shares how she got started with the Runaways, why she almost enlisted - and struggles with the LGBTQ community.
I wish you a good start into the day.
Yours, Dirk Kurbjuweit
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