Please don't go easy!
In a recent interview, Olaf Scholz hinted at something completely unusual for him: self-criticism. This is certainly appropriate if you look at the popularity curves of the Chancellor, the government and the SPD. It's a pretty steep descent there. But has Scholz really understood that he has to change something, in communication, in style, perhaps also in political priorities? Can he even do that?
Today there may be the first indications of this. The so-called general debate is coming up, the highlight of the budget week in the Bundestag. The opposition leader settles accounts with the government, the Chancellor defends his policies.
Scholz's advantage: He can react to Friedrich Merz, because the Union faction leader has to present at the lectern. In the past, the Merz attacks inspired the Chancellor in parliament; he became - you have to be careful with Scholz's term - almost emotional. In this respect, the CDU chairman would be doing everyone a favor if he didn't go easy on his opponent today.
SPD on the brink: The first are moving away from the Chancellor
The 56 billion gap
We are sticking with the budget discussions: In the Bundestag today, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius can proudly announce that the traffic light will reach NATO's two percent target for the first time this year. The SPD politician will probably remain silent about the creative booking tricks that are necessary for this (read more about this here).
In the long run, however, the defense budget cannot be glossed over. In a few years, the special funds for the Bundeswehr will be used up, and then there will be a huge gap in the defense budget: in 2028, the troops will be missing around 56 billion euros, my colleague Marina Kormbaki and my colleague Matthias Gebauer have found out.
But where should the money come from if NATO's demands are to be met in the long term, as promised? If the Bundeswehr is to become “war-ready,” as Pistorius warns?
They are also puzzling about this in the coalition. One thing is clear: it won't be enough to shift a few billion here and there in the budget from A to B. It will hardly work without weakening the debt brake and/or a new special fund (aka shadow budget).
"We. Serve. Germany,” is the troop’s claim so far. Soon it could simply be: We. Need. Money.
Financial distress in the defense department: Bundeswehr is heading for a 56 billion euro hole
Remembrance in troubled times
Today the Bundestag remembers the victims of National Socialism. In addition to Parliament President Bärbel Bas, Holocaust survivor Eva Szepesi and sports journalist Marcel Reif will speak.
Szepesi was deported by the Nazis to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp at the end of 1944. She was twelve years old when the camp was liberated. Reif's father was a Polish Jew, he narrowly escaped being deported to a concentration camp during the war, and other family members were murdered.
Rarely has it been as important as today to keep the memory of the crimes against humanity and the barbarism of the Nazi regime alive. The Hamas attack on Israel showed how widespread anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews still is in Germany at this time. At the same time, right-wing extremists in familiar circles are making plans to deport millions of people who do not seem German enough to them. The AfD is at the table.
Last year, a number of AfD MPs stayed away from the Holocaust commemoration in the Bundestag. A spokesman explained the absence of dozens of parliamentarians “among other things” with high levels of sickness.
Mass deportations under National Socialism: The first harbinger of the “Final Solution”
Click here for the current daily quiz
The starting question today: Who was – at the time of the announcement – the oldest Nobel Prize winner to date?
Loser of the day...
... is Reiner Fuellmich. Do you still remember “The Base”? The “lateral thinker” party was founded during the pandemic and agitated against corona vaccinations, mask requirements and alleged censorship – with extremely modest success in elections.
From today on, the party's former "candidate for chancellor" is on trial in Göttingen. Reiner Fuellmich is accused of embezzling several hundred thousand euros in donations that were actually intended for the Corona Committee Foundation, which he co-led. The defendant denies the allegations.
“Querdenker” party: Former “Die Basis” candidate for chancellor charged with embezzlement
The latest reports from the night
Zelensky apparently wants to exchange commanders in chief - but he refuses:
There seems to be tension between the Ukrainian government and the army leadership. According to media reports, President Zelensky wants a change in personnel. However, he apparently encounters resistance.
Pro-Iranian militia announces suspension of all attacks on US troops:
After the deadly drone attack on US soldiers in Jordan, Washington announced a “very consistent” reaction. Now a radical pro-Iranian group in Iraq is apparently trying to de-escalate.
Bayern's footballers eliminated after Stanway own goal:
German teams have never been so bad: FC Bayern Munich's footballers missed the knockout phase of the Champions League. An own goal and an offside goal sealed a sobering evening.
The SPIEGEL+ recommendations for today
Why did Alfred Visha have to die?
Every five days someone dies on a construction site in this country - like Alfred Visha in Hamburg's HafenCity. Many accidents could be prevented, but Germany leaves many construction workers at unnecessary risk.
How do I talk to my child about Auschwitz?
The Hamas attack on Israel, anti-Semitism, right-wing extremist expulsion fantasies: National Socialism is more present than ever - even for elementary school children. Here, experts give tips for an initial approach to the topic.
Bad weather can be so beautiful:
Are you fed up with winter? Take a closer look again. Christophe Jacrot's pictures show: there is something wonderfully poetic about darkness, rain, fog and snow.
Have a good start to the day.
Heartfelt,
Yours, Philipp Wittrock, head of duty in Los Angeles