What the Chancellor is doing in the USA
“We have to see each other in person again.” This is something similar when the US President and the German Chancellor arrange to meet on the phone. Now the time has come: Olaf Scholz is flying to the US capital Washington today for a short visit, and on Friday he will meet Joe Biden in the White House. Before that, he wants to speak to members of Congress and business bosses.
There is a lot for Biden and Scholz to discuss during this working visit. At the top of the agenda is the war in Ukraine and the question of what will happen there given the messy situation at the front.
The NATO summit in July will also play a role. Scholz is likely to assure Biden that Germany is committed to a stronger European role in NATO - and is making a significant contribution by investing billions in its own troops. As German Chancellor in the USA, this cannot be emphasized often enough. Otherwise it will quickly be forgotten there.
Of course, the crisis in the Middle East will also be an issue, i.e. the war in Gaza and the attacks by the Houthi militias in the Red Sea. Both Biden and Scholz are clearly in favor of giving the Palestinians the prospect of a two-state solution - and are likely to coordinate in order to influence the stubborn Israeli government. A good hour has been planned for the conversation between Biden and Scholz, but given the long agenda, it would not be surprising if the two sat together for longer.
You can read more background information here: The Gaza Strip is so destroyed
Is Trump even allowed to run?
Things are now happening in quick succession for Donald Trump: the next important court date is today. The Supreme Court of the United States will hear the question of whether the state of Colorado can remove Trump from the ballot. Trump will probably not be there himself, but he, like millions of other Americans, can listen to the meeting on the Internet or on the radio from ten a.m. local time (4 p.m. German time). Cameras are not allowed in the Supreme Court.
The court must interpret an old law from the Civil War era that officials in Colorado are relying on. It stipulates that a candidate is ineligible for office if he or she has participated in a riot before the election. In Donald Trump's case, that would be his involvement in the events surrounding the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Trump and his lawyers deny that Trump was involved and are calling for a ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court to be reversed.
No decision will be made at this hearing. But from the questions asked by the nine judges to the representatives of both sides, it can often be seen in which direction individual judges are leaning. It is generally expected that the justices on the Supreme Court will rule in Trump's favor because the court is very reluctant to interfere in the course of presidential elections.
However, if the Supreme Court unexpectedly rules against Trump, it would be tantamount to a political earthquake of magnitude 9.0. This would practically block Trump's path to the presidency. Other states are also likely to remove him from the ballot in every election. This has never happened in this form before. No one could predict how Trump and his fanatical supporters would react.
You can read more background information here: Nobody is above the law - not even Donald Trump
Ukraine still has to worry about US help
If you've lost track of the future of U.S. military aid to Ukraine, please don't worry. You are not alone there. Given the chaotic conditions in the US Congress, no one can say with certainty what will happen next with this explosive issue.
The fact is: US President Joe Biden's plan to pass a large package in Congress that would combine aid to Ukraine, aid to Israel and new regulations to protect the border with Mexico has failed miserably in the Senate.
The resistance to the package from Donald Trump and his loyalists in the Republican ranks was simply too great. Trump no longer wants to grant Biden any political success before the election in November, especially not on his favorite issue, migration policy. After all, he wants to exploit this in the election campaign.
But there is also another calculation: If politics in Washington appears chaotic and dysfunctional, Trump can portray himself as the great savior who will lead the country from the supposed misery to paradise after the election. From this point of view, Trump doesn't care if his own party is completely divided in Congress and can no longer organize majorities when voting for things that are important to them, as has happened more often recently. This also fits perfectly into Trump's savior narrative.
So Ukraine has now ended up exactly where it never wanted to be: in the madness of the US election campaign. There is still hope that Congress will put together a foreign policy package, including aid to Ukraine. But this also requires a majority in the House of Representatives, where resistance to further aid to Ukraine is particularly strong among some Republicans. The chances of a breakthrough for Ukraine here are now about as great as those of winning on a slot machine in Las Vegas.
You can read more about the background here: Republicans in the US Senate block a billion-dollar package
Read the current SPIEGEL editorial here
Genetically modified grains? Yes, please!
Certain genetically modified plants should in future be treated in the EU in the same way as conventional breeding. It is a decision long overdue.
Click here for the current daily quiz
The starting question today: How many countries belong to the European Union? (As of February 2024)
Loser of the day...
…is Ilham Aliyev, the President of Azerbaijan. As colleagues from the German Press Agency report, Aliyev was, as expected, presented as the clear winner of the early presidential election. After the closure of more than 6,500 polling stations in the country, Azerbaijani state media published alleged election day polls showing that Aliyev received between 92.4 and 93.9 percent of the vote.
That's nice for him. Nevertheless, Aliyev is a loser: According to critical observers, the election was neither free nor fair given the severe repression. There were no serious opponents for Aliyev. In addition, numerous independent journalists and a well-known opposition politician have apparently been arrested in recent months. Actually, flawless autocrats like Aliyev could save themselves elections, that would at least be a little more honest.
You can read more background information here: Azerbaijan's President Aliyev confirmed in office
The latest reports from the night
USA reports death of militia commander in drone strike in Iraq:
The US Army continues to take action against the masterminds of the deadly attack in Jordan. Now it carried out an attack in the middle of Baghdad - with pro-Iranian units as its target. The campaign was apparently successful.
Investigations into Biden's documents affair concluded:
Classified information appeared in Joe Biden's private rooms in 2022 - which should not have been there. Now the special investigator has finished his work in the sensitive affair.
Two stoats are the mascots for the 2026 Winter Games:
It's still around two years until the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in Italy, but the organizers are already doing a lot of advertising. In Sanremo they introduced Tina and Milo – the two mascots.
I would particularly like to recommend this text to you today:
“There are not always clear perpetrator-victim constellations”
: According to the Federal Criminal Police Office’s “Domestic Violence Situation Report,” in 2022 alone, 133 women were killed by their partners or ex-partners, plus tens of thousands who were victims of physical assault, stalking or sexual assault . But how often are men attacked by their partners? Two researchers investigated this question; They try to explain why, from their point of view, the topic is underestimated - and what it is like for men who become victims. My colleague Birte Bredow spoke to the sociologists Laura-Romina Goede and Philipp Müller.
“The interview made me think about how I actually define violence,” says Birte about her interview with the scientists. »The survey shows that most of the men do not have any serious physical consequences, but the psychological effects can be massive. However, I am still of the opinion that violence against women by (ex-)partners is the bigger problem. But that doesn't mean that you should ignore attacks on men in relationships. Those affected also need contact points.«
I wish you a good start to the day.
Yours, Roland Nelles, US correspondent