News of the day: Last generation, Hamas hostages, Friedrich Merz and black

1. Glued democracy

Strasbourg instead of streets: The last generation wants to run in the European elections, not as a party, but as an “other political association” because the hurdles are lower. Two candidates have already been chosen, as the organization announced today: Lina Johnsen and Theodor Schnarr, spokesperson for the climate activists.

This comes as a surprise and shows that the activists have not yet found their new profile. Last week they announced that they would keep their hands off the streets in the future. “The change in strategy coincides with violent quarrels within the organization,” report my colleagues Philipp Kollenbroich and Levin Kubeth (more here).

When the strategy for 2024 was presented, there was no mention of the candidacy. As before, the activists are apparently trying out numerous new ways to get attention. “It is doubtful that the path to parliament is promising,” says Philipp. "At least similar climate lists from the Fridays for Future movement failed in the past." He sees the niche for the last generation in radical protest (here his comment). If the march through the institutions still succeeds, the cheap gimmick is on the street: Will you stick to your post?

• Read more here: Last generation wants to run for EU Parliament

2. Beacons and smoke candles

Enlarge image

CDU leader Friedrich Merz: power-political mind games

Photo: Mike Wolff TSP; / Tagesspiegel / IMAGO

The island of Wangerooge is looking for a job advertisement for a keeper for its disused lighthouse (more here). Associatively, the light organ takes us metaphorically to political Berlin, where the FDP general secretary is trying not to be the last to turn off the traffic lights: Bijan Djir-Sarai asserts that he would prefer to govern without the Greens after the next federal election (more here) .

They are also dealing with the Greens in the Union. Because a newsletter from Friedrich Merz has caused a stir in his own camp, as my colleague Stefan Kuzmany reports. In the email, the CDU leader merely calculated in which constellations a federal government under the leadership of the Union would actually be possible, according to current surveys. “More than that: the fact that Merz does not rule out a coalition with the Greens from the outset does not necessarily mean that he would be willing to do so in the end,” writes Stefan. "For him, the option is simply a power-political lever to get as much out of possible coalition negotiations with different candidates (i.e. the Greens and SPD)."

While some Greens may now signal a willingness to form a coalition with the Union, the AfD may be happy that it can demonize Merz as a friend of the Greens: "From today's perspective, a black-green coalition is as likely or unlikely as it was before the most recent "#MerzMail." «, writes Stefan. “It may one day be computationally possible, but nothing more.”

• Read more here: The black-green misunderstanding 

3. The hostage dilemma

Enlarge image

Protest in front of the Israeli Ministry of Defense at the beginning of February: The vast majority of Israelis have long wanted to get rid of “Bibi,” as the prime minister is called in Israel

Photo: Ahmad Gharabli / AFP

What has to happen for the hostages kidnapped by Hamas to be released? They have been in the hands of the terrorist organization for four months, "probably hidden in the tunnel system under Gaza, which is constantly under fire from the Israeli armed forces," reports my colleague Richard C. Schneider. "With every day that passes, the chances of seeing those abducted alive again become smaller." (More about the destruction in the Gaza Strip here.)

They would probably only be released if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was prepared to pay a very high price for it. Today, Hamas' response to a possible deal with Israel that had been negotiated in recent weeks became known (more here). The terrorist group is insisting that Israel first agree to a ceasefire of 135 days and then an end to the war. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners are to be released. And furthermore, according to Hamas, the Israeli army must withdraw completely from Gaza. "In other words: Hamas would remain in power in Gaza despite heavy losses," writes Richard C. Schneider. »Israel would be a loser, at least morally. Netanyahu cannot therefore respond to this. And he doesn’t want it either.” For him, it’s all about one thing: his own retention of power.

• Read more here: Hamas's impossible demands 

What else is important today?

• Höcke has to go to court – charged with sedition:

  Thuringia's AfD leader Björn Höcke has to answer in court because of a post on Telegram, he is accused of sedition. This is not the first accusation against him.

• Ver.di is threatening longer strikes at airports:

  Lufthansa is threatened with further strikes after the warning strike on Wednesday. The union's chief negotiator said the willingness to strike has never been higher in the past 20 years.

• The EU Parliament is in favor of relaxing genetic engineering:

  The prerequisite is that the new breeding could also have been created using conventional methods: The European Parliament wants less strict rules for genetically modified foods.

What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+

• What people need to be happy:

  Eric Galbraith and his team asked people around the world how happy they are. And they were surprised: “Most people had an answer ready straight away.”

• The million-dollar adoption trick:

  Hermès, drugstore Müller, Darboven - prominent cases become known every now and then, but the adoption of adults is much more widespread than expected. No wonder: if you do it right, you can save a lot of money in the event of an inheritance.

• About the dangerous half-morality from the left:

  We live in an age of political trivialization of anti-Semitism, writes our columnist Sascha Lobo. This became visible after the violent attack on the Jewish student Lahav Shapira.

Which is less important today

Jet especially

: US student

Jack Sweeney

, 21, is unimpressed by the threat of legal action from Taylor Swift's lawyers. According to the Washington Post, they are calling on him to stop distributing the flight details of the singer's private plane via his social media accounts. He had his lawyers say that this was simply about using public information to track a public person's jet:

"This is not about putting a GPS tracker on someone and invading their privacy."

Mini concave mirror

You can find the entire concave mirror here.

Cartoon of the day

And tonight?

Enlarge image

Scene from “Curb Your Enthusiasm”

Photo:

HBO/Warner/Sky

Could you start watching the twelfth and final season of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” with Larry David (on the streaming service Wow). “The series Larry is the kind of old, white man that we will soon miss: smart, quirky and difficult to communicate, self-centered and self-righteous,” says my colleague Laura Ewert. With all his supposed misanthropy, he deals with deeply philosophical and moral questions: "He's a know-it-all asshole with a lack of impulse control who gets himself into a lot of trouble with his honesty - but he does it for all of us."

Because Larry's displayed disgust for humanity is actually a big world hug, the greatest love that can be bestowed on her. This reminds me of a colleague sitting across from me.

I wish you a nice finishing time. Heartfelt

Yours, Oliver Trenkamp, ​​Blattmacher in the editor-in-chief