the three question marks today all revolve around the main battle tank decision:
Kampfpanzer I - How does the chancellor explain his decision?
Kampfpanzer II - who supplies which model and when?
Kampfpanzer III - How does Kyiv react, like Moscow?
1. Scholz mantra, Scholz method
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Photo: Clemens Bilan / EPA
"Thank you very much for the question." Many of Olaf Scholz's answers today in the Bundestag always start the same way - whether it's about housing construction, renewable energies or immigration.
With such an automated routine that he once corrected himself: "Thank you for the question.
No, not a big thank you.« He has just been asked by an AfD deputy whether the Chancellor also thinks that many foreigners have no place in Germany.
At question time in the Bundestag on day 1 after the battle tank turnaround - or on day 0, depending on how you count - a lot sounds like everyday life, like business as usual, like small-small.
Scholz has just justified the - not only from his point of view - big decision to deliver Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine.
And he defended what many - not just Agnes Strack-Zimmermann from the FDP - criticize as hesitancy: "It was right and it's right that we didn't let ourselves drift," said Scholz.
Coordination with international allies was important.
No going it alone, close coordination, that has been Scholz's mantra since the beginning of the war.
The Scholz method is now similarly predictable: "He doesn't explain his policy in advance, not during the ongoing process," says my colleague Christian Teevs from our Berlin office.
"Scholz only communicates results and explains his decisions afterwards." Whether it's a turn of the century, a double boom or a nuclear dispute - at some point Scholz dares to come out of cover.
"He demonstrates decision-making power, and in the public debate after the performances the chancellor is often attested to as a leader," says Christian.
But the procedure harbors risks: "In the long intermediate phases, he seems weak and hesitant."
Mr. Chancellor, why is it always the same thing?
Many thanks for the question!
Read the whole analysis here: The Scholz method
2. Three battalions, two from Europe
Who will deliver which main battle tanks to Ukraine and when?
Here is the quick overview:
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Two Leopard 2A6 tanks at a NATO exercise in Lithuania in 2022
Photo: SeanGallup/Getty Images
In total, European countries want to make two battalions, each with about 40 Leopard main battle tanks, available as soon as possible.
The Germans are participating with a company of Leopard 2A6 tanks in a battalion that is also expected to include Finns, Spanish and Dutch tanks of this model.
A second battalion of Type 2A4 Leopards is assembled by Poles and Norwegians.
A third battalion is said to come from the US with about 30 M1 Abrams main battle tanks, although this has not yet been officially announced.
US President Joe Biden wants to give a speech in the early evening.
The federal government probably assumes that it can deliver by the end of March.
The training of Ukrainian soldiers at a Bundeswehr base should begin as soon as possible and last six to eight weeks.
Read more here: Ukraine is to receive a total of 80 main battle tanks from Europe
3. Kyiv thanks, Moscow threatens
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Photo: Efrem Lukatsky / dpa
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted that he was "sincerely grateful to the Chancellor and to all our friends in Germany".
"Thank you, Chancellor Olaf Scholz" tweeted Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.
The decision was "a big step" towards stopping the Russian invasion.
"Together we are stronger."
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the decision could help Ukraine "defend, win and survive as an independent nation" at a "critical moment" in the war.
Russia's ambassador in Berlin, Sergei Netschajew, described the delivery as "extremely dangerous".
She will "take the conflict to a new level of confrontation," Nechayev told Telegram.
The West finds itself in a logic of “permanent escalation”.
Admittedly, none of the statements are particularly surprising.
But Moscow's perfidy in presenting itself as the real victim on the one hand and threatening openly on the other is always remarkable.
As if the poor aggressor Russia could not help but cover the neighboring country with death, ruin and destruction.
Even more remarkable that there are always people who get caught.
All current developments can be found here in our news blog.
And here is more news and background information on the war in Ukraine:
“There is a pattern in Scholz's chancellorship”:
First hesitation, now sudden action on the tank issue – and how will the support for Ukraine continue?
SPIEGEL editor Veit Medick analyzes Chancellor Olaf Scholz's recent about-face.
"The constant cross-shots did more harm than good":
Did Chancellor Scholz hesitate too long with the decision to deliver Leopard tanks to Ukraine?
SPD parliamentary group leader Rolf Mützenich rebukes critics of the head of government - and calls for "more humility and restraint".
Report on attack in Makiivka raises doubts about previously reported number of victims:
Ukraine inflicted heavy losses on Russian troops in Makiivka.
According to the BBC, more soldiers died than officially confirmed by Moscow.
But Kiev's account was also inaccurate - and greatly exaggerated.
Russia's war of aggression Selenskyj: "It's not about five or ten or fifteen tanks.
The need is greater”:
The Ukrainian President reacts cautiously to reports of Leopard deliveries.
Will there be a demand for fighter planes soon?
And: Moscow accuses the US of a “blatant provocation”.
Recent Developments.
What else is important today
Two dead in a knife attack on a regional train between Hamburg and Kiel:
On a train near Brokstedt, a man attacked fellow passengers, there were two dead.
That said Interior Minister Sabine Sütterlin-Waack.
Another five people were injured.
Archdiocese of Munich wants to pay damages in explosive case of abuse:
After Cologne, the Archdiocese of Munich is now also facing the court claims for damages of a person affected by abuse.
They want to find an "appropriate solution," they say.
Experts expect a wave of lawsuits.
Habeck expects the economy to improve from the spring:
Robert Habeck presents the annual economic report - and seems almost surprised himself by the mild prospects.
Inflation is therefore declining, but remains high.
Yes to lateral entrants, no to large classes:
parents of school children feel the lack of teachers.
62 percent of those surveyed report that lessons have been canceled.
Most fear effects on learning success - but not necessarily in their own child.
What we recommend at SPIEGEL+ today
»Interest rates must continue to rise«:
Inflation rates in Europe are falling again, but Joachim Nagel does not trust the relaxation: The President of the Bundesbank fears that it will be years before the currency watchdogs have inflation under control.
What helps children when their parents are mentally ill:
Annika's mother had bipolar disorder, her father had depression.
She had to deal with the fact that Mom couldn't get up and Dad was sad.
what helped her
»Now, at 21, I know what I need.
I want to be alone as often as possible«:
An anthology that deals with the happiness (and unhappiness) of being alone, a horrifying murder case in Hamburg - and how do you actually explain the Holocaust to young people?
These six new paperbacks are worth reading.
Which is less important today
It-Baby
: American
entrepreneur Paris Hilton
, 41, and her
husband Carter Reum
, also 41, became parents through surrogacy, according to People magazine.
The businesswoman, formerly known as the "It Girl," broke the news by posting a photo on Instagram of a hand, believed to be her own, with a baby's fingers clasping the thumb.
She metaphorically said, "Our hearts are exploding with love for our little son."
Mini concave mirror
Ksta.de about a suspect:
"The woman is accused of stealing tools under a false name."
Here you can find the whole concave mirror.
cartoon of the day
And tonight?
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Voice actor Draeger: "Woody Allen, that's practically me in many ways"
Photo:
Daniel Bockwoldt / picture alliance / dpa
Could you look in your attic or in your basement for the box with the "The Three ???" CDs.
Or the TKKG cassettes.
Or, if you're less of a retro-romantic type, check out a streaming service.
It would be the opportunity to hear the voice actor Wolfgang Draeger again, who died yesterday.
At TKKG he spoke to Inspector Glockner, Gaby's father, and in the »Drei ???« since the late 1980s, to Inspector Reynolds.
(More about Draeger's career here.)
Of course, Draeger also gave a German voice to two famous New Yorkers, namely Woody Allen and Bibo, the big bird from »Sesame Street«.
But who has video cassettes or DVDs of it in the attic or in the basement?
Have a nice evening. Heartfelt
Yours sincerely, Oliver Trenkamp, Editor-in-Chief