the three question marks today:
Boris Pistorius - Who is the newcomer in the Ministry of Defence?
Cosa Nostra - Is the Sicilian Mafia done for?
Speed limit - is it necessary to achieve the climate targets?
1. The new one
Respect!
Olaf Scholz managed a surprise coup by appointing Boris Pistorius (SPD) as successor to Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD).
Hardly anyone had foreseen the nomination of the sharp-tongued interior minister from Lower Saxony.
Neither does he, apparently.
When colleague Veit Medick from SPIEGEL's capital city office called him on Sunday evening to ask whether he would be the newcomer to the Defense Ministry, he dismissed it.
No, no, he's in the car right now on the way home.
He went on vacation to Madeira for ten days, ate a lot of fish, and was deeply relaxed.
Many would be suitable for the Ministry of Defense, he doesn't deal with it.
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Designated Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (SPD)
Photo: Moritz Frankenberg / dpa
Now Pistorius has to put the deep relaxation down very quickly.
Veit Medick believes that Pistorius will have no trouble establishing a relationship with the troops.
“His style, his willingness to offend – all of this should go down well with the soldiers, he is closer to everyday life and less cerebral than many of his predecessors.
A guy.” The comparisons with Peter Struck were already making the rounds.
Reactions to Pistorius' nomination are very benevolent indeed.
In any case, the opposition clearly has trouble criticizing Scholz' personnel decision.
CSU boss Markus Söder, for example, instead of doubting Pistorius' suitability as defense minister, criticized Scholz's broken campaign promise: "Parity is now officially checked off the traffic light."
At the beginning of his term, Scholz said that men and women made up half of each other in society – and that is why women should also have half of the power.
What they no longer have with Pistorius as a newcomer to the cabinet table.
But who knows if another one-man ministerial post might become vacant in the remainder of the legislative period?
After all, there are said to have been male politicians in the past who messed things up.
Read a portrait of Boris Pistorius here: The Red General
2.
Telltale tumor
For 30 years, the authorities hunted down what is perhaps Italy's most dangerous mafia boss.
Had he gone into hiding in Spain?
Or in Albania?
Countless investigators and prosecutors have spent large parts of their careers searching for the fugitive Sicilian.
Without success.
But finally there was an arrest.
Apparently, Matteo Messina Denaro is suffering from a special form of cancer.
That's how investigators were able to identify him.
Shortly before his next chemotherapy, the police snapped up.
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Arrested mafia boss Messina Denaro (r.): "It would be the worst mistake to think that the mafia has been defeated"
Photo: Carabinieri National Police / REUTERS
A historic success is now being talked about across the country, reports our Italy correspondent Frank Hornig.
About a "gift for democracy" or about "an earthquake for the Cosa Nostra," as the mafia is called in Sicily.
The spectacular arrest aims to end a traumatic story that shook Italy decades ago.
It leads back to the 1980s and early 1990s, when Cosa Nostra waged a bloody campaign against the Italian state with kidnappings, attacks and car bombs.
"Corrupt politics, a powerless judiciary, and a wounded state became visible at the time," writes Frank Hornig.
Matteo Messina Denaro is one of the most prominent mafia bosses of that time.
And a man of incredible brutality who once had a 12-year-old boy kidnapped and strangled to prevent his father from testifying in court.
"It would be the worst mistake to think that the mafia is defeated," prosecutor De Lucia said after Messina Denaro's arrest.
The investigators must now try to clarify who protected the boss for so long - and who will succeed him in the clan.
Read more here: »An earthquake for the Cosa Nostra«
3.
No speed in climate protection
The majority of Germans would like to be able to move faster on city streets.
In any case, many citizens do not think much of more 30 km/h zones in cities, as a current SPIEGEL survey shows.
Other European countries find it easier to slow down in city traffic.
The city council of Milan decided last week that the entire city area should be declared a 30 km/h zone from next year.
Brussels and Paris have already done so, with the exception of a few main thoroughfares.
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Only exceptionally: Tempo 30 marking in Düsseldorf
Photo: Michael Gstettenbauer / IMAGO
An imminent speed limit on German autobahns is now a long way off.
The Federal Constitutional Court has dismissed an appeal for the introduction of a speed limit on motorways.
The judges in Karlsruhe ruled in a decision published on Tuesday (Az: 1 BvR 2146/22) that the complainants had not sufficiently demonstrated an unconstitutional omission on the part of the legislature.
In particular, they had not shown that the speed limit was necessary in order to achieve the legal climate targets and to protect their civil liberties.
The complainants had defended themselves against insufficient climate protection measures in Germany.
An attitude that Lower Saxony's Prime Minister Stephan Weil apparently shares.
Today he reiterated his demand for a general speed limit on German autobahns.
“In any case, the mobility sector must make a greater contribution to reducing CO₂.
A speed limit would help," said the SPD politician, who had previously advocated a maximum limit of 130 km/h, of the "Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung" (NOZ).
Both the SPD and the Greens had called for this in their programs for the federal elections.
In the negotiations to form the traffic light coalition with the FDP, however, a speed limit was ruled out from the outset.
Read more here: Majority rejects more Tempo 30 on German roads
News and background to the war in Ukraine
How the oil price cap and falling gas prices are affecting Russia:
The West's oil sanctions are having an effect: Russia can only get rid of its most important type of crude oil with huge discounts.
And the prices for gas exports to Europe are also falling.
Is Vladimir Putin losing the energy war?
Zelenskyj is urging Davos politicians to make a quick decision about battle tanks:
the number of deaths after the Russian air raid on a residential area in Dnipro continues to rise, the Ukrainian president wants heavy tanks.
The demand comes just in time for two important dates in the West.
Inflation rate reached record level in 2022:
Prices rose more in 2022 than at any time since reunification.
However, the last quarter gives the experts some hope.
Find all the latest developments on the war in Ukraine here: The News Update
What else is important today
Three defendants make confessions:
A large part of the loot was returned – after that there was a so-called deal in the process of breaking into the Dresden Green Vault.
Three defendants have now admitted their involvement in the crime.
Union invites Merkel supporters Thym as experts:
next week, Union MPs will discuss migration.
According to SPIEGEL information, one of the three invited experts is European law expert Daniel Thym, who defends the course taken by ex-Chancellor Merkel.
There are more shareholders in Germany than ever before:
the number of shareholders in Germany has reached a new high of around 12.9 million.
One group in particular stands out.
German arrested in Iran:
Iranians have been rebelling against their government for months, and Germany is supporting the protests.
According to the Iranian media, the authorities have now arrested a German in the south-west of the country.
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+
Revenge for Trump:
New finds of secret files, investigation into Hunter Biden's finances: Republicans are stepping up their attacks on US President Joe Biden and his family.
Can your calculus work out behind it?
Could there soon be no longer enough electricity to charge e-cars?
Germany's highest energy authority fears that more and more e-cars and heat pumps could overload the grids in the future - and wants to ration electricity in these cases.
How big is the risk?
Why the Soli could soon also fall for the rich:
The Supreme Tax Court is negotiating a case with explosive power – financially and politically: does the Soli violate the constitution?
The government is threatened with the loss of many billions – and the coalition peace.
How does a trip become truly sustainable?
A climate activist provides the answer:
some travel through Europe by train, others fly to the eco-hotel in New York.
What do holidays look like that are environmentally friendly – and fun?
Looking for a holiday with Annika Rittmann from Fridays for Future.
Which is less important today
Enlarge image
President Thorsten Latzel at the Synod of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland in Düsseldorf
Photo: Rolf Vennenbernd / dpa
The Bible, miracles, the cross, resurrection, the Holy Spirit
- for many, that sounds like "Klingon", says the President of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland.
The artificial language of the Klingons was designed around 40 years ago for the »Star Trek« cult films.
Thorsten Latzel sees a growing alienation of people from the world of ideas of the Christian faith.
"For more and more people, this speech from God is simply alien and sometimes incomprehensible," said the theologian at the synod in Düsseldorf.
Even the idea that God exists is strange to many.
When asked if they believe in God, many people would say, "No, I'm normal."
Mini concave mirror
Here you can find the whole concave mirror.
cartoon of the day
And tonight?
The six-part »Bonn – Old Friends, New Enemies« starts today at prime time in the first.
The series tells of the turbulent, sometimes murderous disputes among German secret service agents during the Cold War.
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TV actor Mercedes Müller, Martin Wuttke, co-players in the ARD six-part series »Bonn – Old Friends, New Enemies«
Photo:
Zuzana Panska / Odeon Fiction / ARD
My colleague Wolfgang Höbel writes that people who are enthusiastic about detective thrillers should enjoy the series "just as much as people who are interested in recent German history".
The set of this series may sometimes indulge a bit too much in the chic of the fifties, some characters may be constructed too simply (especially the Jewish ones), some dialogues may sound too pedantic.
On the other hand, according to Wolfgang, the textbook tendencies in this series can be taken as evidence that this is not just about the political and social turbulence of the past, but also about conflicts that are still having an impact today.
For example, the agent played by Max Riemelt once said: »Nobody wants peace.
There's no money to be made from that.«
Have a nice evening.
Sincerely
yours, Anna Clauss, Head of the Opinion and Debate Department