The situation in the morning: the gas surcharge is coming – who should pay for it?

Traffic light stress test

"You'll never walk alone!"

You probably can't hear these words anymore, but Olaf Scholz has made them his guiding principle.

And

.

Since yesterday it has been clear how high the

, which customers will have to pay from autumn: 2.4 cents per kilowatt hour.

It doesn't sound like much, but it will cost quite a bit of money.

Sample calculation: For a single-family house, there are additional costs of 484 euros per year.

If VAT is also incurred (which the federal government would like to prevent), it would be almost a hundred euros more.

Who should pay for this?

The traffic light has promised (see Chancellor's guiding principle) not to leave people alone with these additional costs.

But she has not yet revealed how she intends to relieve the burden on the citizens.

It would have been best if the coalition had put together and presented a

package when the gas levy was announced.

She failed to do so, instead arguing, warning and appeasing the SPD, Greens and FDP.

But the people who are already plagued by inflation and energy prices cannot buy anything from emotional chancellor slogans, contrite vice chancellor comments (“bitter medicine”) or letters from finance ministers to the EU Commission.

Without the surcharge, it would probably not work if the alternative were the collapse of the gas supply.

It is also true that the state cannot cushion all hardships in this situation, the strong have to shoulder more burdens.

But

The chancellor himself has already openly expressed his concern about social upheaval when citizens are threatened with economic hardship.

In fact, Germany is facing a stress test in winter and autumn.

This is already the case for the coalition.

• Gas surcharge for consumers: Scholz and Habeck want relief – what does Lindner want? 

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

• This happened in the night:

• "There's almost constant shelling, right next to reactor block one":

  After renewed attacks on the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, workers and residents flee in panic, and there are long traffic jams.

  But what about those who stay - and how can they keep the business going? 

• Norway cannot expand gas deliveries to Germany:

  "You can rely on Norway," says Olaf Scholz in Oslo.

  The country is helping in the energy crisis with higher production.

  However, it cannot solve the German and European gas problems on its own.

• Anti-Putin protest to the water spectacle:

  In Imatra, Finland, a dam is opened every evening.

  The place on the border with Russia has recently gotten one over on the Putin regime – in a musical way.

  The video.

Cheney vs. Trump

The

is the least populated state in the USA.

Most residents are strictly conservative, with 70 percent voting for

in the last presidential election .

So why is Trump paying so much attention to Wyoming these days as he heads towards a potential presidential nomination again in 2024?

When he can almost be sure of a win here in the wild west anyway.

The reason is called

.

Cheney, 56, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, belongs to the Republican nobility, represents strictly conservative views himself, and has long supported Trump.

But his lies about the stolen election and his role in the storming of the Capitol caused Cheney to renounce the Trump cult.

Now she is

She voted for impeachment and, as co-chair of the Capitol Storm Inquiry Committee, has said, "There is enough evidence to impeach him."

That's exactly why

, he wants to make an example of her, show everyone in the party what will happen if they oppose him.

On Tuesday, the Republican base in Wyoming will decide in a primary who can run for the party in November's congressional elections.

It is not unlikely that Cheney, who has always won 60 percent in Wyoming elections, will lose her seat in the House of Representatives.

Trump has built the 59-year-old lawyer Harriet Hageman as a competitor.

And because Wyoming is Trump country, Hageman is well ahead in the primary polls.

So will "Trump's diabolical plan," as my colleague Roland Nelles called it, work?

Well-meaning observers believe it is possible that Cheney's career would not be over if he lost in Wyoming.

Should Trump run and lose in 2024, she could even become a presidential candidate herself.

• Liz Cheney fights for Congress: Trump's diabolical plan in Wyoming 

Ataman's first appearance

When the

in Germany is presented, it's usually not a big deal.

As important as the topic is, in the past, on the day of the presentation, the

in this country were reported, there were a few affected comments, and that was it.

Hardly anyone was interested in the fact that the head of the federal anti-discrimination agency was vacant for four years.

This Tuesday, greater attention will be paid to the date for the presentation of the new report for 2021.

Unfortunately not, because in the meantime the great majority has recognized that the deficits in the equal treatment of people because of their age, their gender, their origin or religion, their world view or sexual identity cannot be sufficiently illuminated.

But because

will present the report.

Ataman has been in charge of the anti-discrimination agency for a few weeks, and the 43-year-old's appointment was rather bumpy.

Because Ataman, as a publicist, liked to write provocatively and pointedly about racism, migration and integration, conservative and right-wing circles considered her unsuitable.

The accusation: You divide and polemicize instead of integrating.

In the end, the Bundestag elected Ataman to the new office with an extremely narrow majority. Many FDP MPs in particular had reservations at the traffic light – the Chancellor and the coalition only narrowly avoided the crisis.

Ataman is now

as she makes her first public appearance in her new role .

It's safe to assume she'll exercise restraint, careful not to give her opponents points of attack.

It remains to be hoped that she will nevertheless clearly address what is wrong with discrimination in Germany.

• Controversy over government officials Ataman: This is a campaign

Here's the current quiz of the day

The starting question today: In the 2021 federal election, Annalena Baerbock and Olaf Scholz competed against each other in the same constituency – which one?

Loser of the day...

... is Boris Johnson.

His days as British Prime Minister are numbered, and he will be replaced on September 6 by either Foreign Secretary Liz Truss or ex-Finance Minister Rishi Sunak.

But the way in which the conservative prime minister is carrying out his duties in the midst of rising inflation, the threat of recession and prolonged drought is causing resentment.

Just last week, Johnson returned from a five-day delayed honeymoon trip to Slovenia with his wife Carrie.

Now he is on vacation again, this time he is recovering according to media reports in Greece.

The opposition is furious that

while the country struggles to pay its bills.

Once the reputation is ruined, it rules itself quite unashamedly.

The latest news from the night

• Justice Department rejects publication of document on Trump raid:

  Politicians and the media want to see the document with which the search warrant for the raid on Donald Trump's property was obtained.

  The Justice Department refuses - citing national security.

• With six Eurofighters to Singapore in 24 hours:

  The Luftwaffe sets course for the Indo-Pacific.

  The goal is military exercises in Australia with six Eurofighters.

  A threatening message to China, which is causing tensions in the region, is apparently not.

• Oscar Academy apologizes to Sacheen Littlefeather - almost 50 years late:

  In 1973, Marlon Brando sent the Apachin Sacheen Littlefeather to the Oscars: He was supposed to be awarded, she rejected on his behalf - with drastic consequences.

  Now she got an apology from the organizers.

The SPIEGEL + recommendations for today

• How a student lost all her savings to "Europol" rip-offs:

  Millions of people are currently being contacted by alleged criminal prosecutors who are putting massive pressure on their victims.

  A recent case from Leipzig shows the tricks that scammers use to snatch away people's assets.

• New Zealand relies on cold turkey:

  Tobacco will soon be banned for young adults, and it can hardly contain nicotine – 0.7 instead of the previous 15 milligrams: New Zealand is radically fighting against smoking.

  Will other countries follow soon? 

• "Let's please teach our daughters the words vagina and vulva":

  Puberty is a formative phase for every girl.

  How can parents support them, what mistakes should they avoid?

  Gynecologist Sheila de Liz provides answers.

• City, country, abundance:

  Our author comes from the region between Germany, France and Switzerland - and has put together his favorite tips here.

  For gourmets, families, cyclists and city strollers.

Have a good day.

Heartfelt,

Yours Philip Wittrock