Welcome to Habeck's Toad Cooking Show

1. Are you already heating?

"Are you already heating?" is the new "Are you already boosted?".

In the circle of friends, acquaintances and colleagues, the question dominates whether it is okay to turn up the heating at 18 or 19 degrees.

The really hard ones are said to be able to withstand 17 degrees in the study, the really smart ones put a treadmill at the high desk.

It's surprising how much small talk can be made with wool socks and knitted sweaters.

(See tips from an energy consultant here.)

Freezing for peace - that doesn't seem to be a majority thing.

Many are opting for heating these days, as my colleague Holger Dambeck reports.

His data analysis shows that consumption increased significantly at the end of September, mainly due to small consumers.

"According to the calculations, these customers saved gas in August," says Holger.

"In the past few days, however, consumption was above the average value for previous years for this period."

[M] Lea Rossa / DER SPIEGEL;

Photo: Rene Traut / IMAGO

Most recently, prices on Europe's gas exchanges had fallen despite the crisis, and German gas storage facilities are more than 90 percent full.

Unless it gets extremely cold or there are major supply disruptions, for example from Norway or the USA, a gas shortage in Germany this winter is unlikely from today's perspective.

However, things could possibly get tight again in the winter of 2023/2024 when Russia stops supplying gas.

• Read more here: Germany's gas consumption is rising sharply 

2. Robert Habeck's nuclear toad menu

Gerhard Schröder once snapped that in a red-green coalition it had to be clear "who was the cook and who was the waiter".

In the traffic light coalition, in which the Reds and Greens are now, well, working together with the FDP, it is difficult to clarify who is cooking and who is the waiter – especially since the menu consists almost entirely of toads anyway.

At least Robert Habeck seems to be able to make the fattest toads more or less palatable to his people: Now the Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim nuclear power plants are to continue running until April 2023, as he explained to the Greens parliamentary group in the Bundestag yesterday.

The nuclear phase-out has thus officially been postponed by three months;

there was no uprising in the party or faction.

"Yes, there are protests and criticism from some of the Greens," says my colleague Marina Kormbaki from our office in the capital, "but most of them take a pragmatic view - and follow Habeck."

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Vice-Chancellor Habeck: Who cooks who soft here?

Photo:

Michael Kappeler / dpa

The recipe of the climate minister and vice chancellor is a performative act, a kind of toad show cooking in stages: First a disgusted look, look, I would never eat a toad ("We currently have a gas problem, not a power problem").

Then the thoughtful look, yes, it's a toad, but if there's no other choice, who knows what it would taste like ("operational reserve for extreme emergencies").

And finally the convincing look, here we have toad for you, everything else is over ("As of today, I think that's necessary").

Maybe Habeck will also send a little greeting to the kitchen: He has to negotiate the gas levy with the other toad chefs Scholz and Lindner and can now point out that his people have swallowed enough.

Either way: "The nuclear issue should dominate the planned federal party conference of the Greens in October," says Marina.

"It remains to be seen whether resistance will increase by then."

And Gerhard Schroeder?

For a long time now, he's only been serving what's concocted in Moscow.

• Read more about the Greens and the nuclear phase-out here: How Habeck took the Greens by surprise 

3. apparent self-evidence

Sham referendum ended – what next?

Politically and propagandistically, the matter seems clear: the Kremlin claims that the four occupied territories in eastern and southern Ukraine want to join Russia.

Over 97 percent of the people would have voted for it.

Today, separatist leaders have asked for "union with Russia."

At the beginning of next week, the two Russian chambers of parliament want to decide on the annexations.

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"Polling station" in Melitopol

Photo:

IMAGO/RIA Novosti/IMAGO/SNA

In terms of journalism and language, some editors faced challenges in properly presenting the facts in the headlines.

A headline like "Russia announces referendum result: 97 percent for accession" may seem factual, but it is only apparently objective.

It falsifies because it conceals everything that is relevant: the votes were staged, and nobody even bothered about the semblance of minimum democratic standards.

According to media reports, refugees and prisoners of war were forced to vote, armed soldiers went from door to door, and transparent ballot boxes could be seen in videos.

It is a breach of international law, hardly any state will recognize the annexation.

However, no informed reader wants to be bothered with a mallet.

Headlines like "Russia announces pseudo-results of staged mock referendums" seem as elegant as someone constantly waving ironic quotation marks with their index and middle fingers while telling a story.

We at SPIEGEL are certainly wrong from time to time, but sometimes you have to explain things that seem self-evident.

• Read more here: How Russia is now proceeding after the mock referendums

And here is more news and background information on the war in Ukraine:

• Von der Leyen brings new sanctions against Russia into play:

  Tensions between Russia and the West continue to intensify.

  Now the EU Commission wants to introduce new sanctions – and Moscow wants to convene the UN Security Council.

• "They'll pick you up, say 'take food and warm clothes with you' and take you to the bus":

  chaos and arbitrariness reign in Russia when reservists are called up for the Ukraine war.

  Seven Russians tell SPIEGEL about their fears - and how they hide from the authorities.

• “Our children are not fertilizer”:

  Putin needs fresh troops in the war against Ukraine – and things remain calm in most regions of Russia.

  In Dagestan, however, women are demonstrating against the conscription of their husbands, brothers and sons.

• Find all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine here: The News Update

(Would you like to receive the "Situation in the evening" conveniently by e-mail in your inbox? Order the daily briefing as a newsletter here.)

What else is important today

• Norway wants to protect its oil and gas facilities militarily:

  After the alleged attacks on the Nord Stream pipelines, Norway has announced increased security for its own facilities.

  Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre issued a warning to potential attackers.

• This is how much the Dax bosses earn:

  The economy is suffering, but board salaries are rising: Despite the pandemic, German CEOs earned more in 2021.

  The distance to the employees is growing.

• Constitutional Court considers repeat elections in Berlin possible:

  The election to the Berlin House of Representatives may have to be repeated in its entirety due to the chaotic process.

  The Constitutional Court in the capital came to this preliminary assessment.

What we recommend at SPIEGEL+ today

• The Federal Ministry of Finance is apparently slowing down clarification in the Cum-ex affair:

  A confidential protocol from the Bundestag Finance Committee could harm Chancellor Scholz in the Cum-ex scandal.

  The Union would like to publish the document.

  But there are problems.

• Am I too stupid to fill out this form?

  Have you already submitted your declaration on the new property tax?

  I wish you much success;

  maybe you are smarter than me .

• This woman wants to climb all 14 eight-thousanders in half a year:

  The Nepalese mountaineer Nims Purja was the first and only person to climb all eight-thousanders in record time.

  A Norwegian now wants to show that this is not a man thing.

• "I don't care about this sell-out shit":

  Punk's not dead, but a zombie: A new series about the Sex Pistols is starting on Disney+ these days.

  Founding member Steve Jones talks about abuse, commerce - and the conflict with John Lydon.

Which is less important today

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Photo:

Julia Nikhinson/AP

Yes, Me Bill:

Former US Secretary of State

, 74, spoke about courage in a joint interview with her daughter Chelsea, 42.

She quotes the "Bunte" as saying: "Personally, I have to say that the bravest thing was that I stayed in my marriage."

Typo of the day

, now corrected: "Other combustible Schäps are also suitable."

Cartoon of the Day:

Chasms

And tonight?

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Photo:

Netflix

Could you check out the controversial Marilyn tribute 'Blonde', which premieres on Netflix today.

My colleague Wolfgang Höbel met the leading actress Ana de Armas in Venice, he thinks she plays Marilyn Monroe "really gorgeous".

De Armas trained the heroine she embodied to speak in an “almost grotesquely thorough way”.

"She even masters the languor with which Monroe pronounces the letter O in her sentences with virtuosity."

It's not an ordinary biopic, Wolfgang thinks, but a psycho study in which the childhood hell of Norma Jeane Baker, as Marilyn Monroe's real name was, is portrayed as the fate of her life.

(You can find his text here.)

Have a fun evening.

Yours sincerely,

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