1. A murder in installments
Russian authorities reported at midday that Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny had died in custody. His lawyer and his team do not want to confirm the death immediately. "But even if they have every reason to distrust Putin's regime, the core of the message is unlikely to change," write my colleagues Ann-Dorit Boy and Christina Hebel. "Wladimir Putin's best-known, strongest and most charismatic opponent is weeks away Presidential election died.« (More here.)
Just a little later, his wife Julija Navalnaya takes the lectern at the Munich Security Conference. She appears shaken but composed; the audience gives her a standing ovation. “I thought for a long time whether I should come here or fly straight to my children,” she says. »But then I thought about what Alexei would do if he were me. And I'm sure he would be here." If the terrible news were true, then she wanted "Putin, his entire entourage, Putin's friends, his government to know that they are responsible for what they have done to our country, my family and my “The things we did to a man will be held accountable.” (More in the video here.)
Her husband recently called on his supporters and other representatives of the liberal opposition in Russia to go to the polling stations on the last day of the staged presidential election on March 17th - all together at 12 noon, in protest. “Millions of people will be able to take part,” said a post on his channel at X, formerly Twitter. Ann-Dorit and Christina write: “Given the threat of prison sentences, hundreds of thousands would be a success.”
Three and a half years ago, my colleagues Benjamin Bidder and Christian Esch had a long conversation with Navalny. It was the first interview after the poison attack, from which he was recovering in Berlin. At the time he tells how he experienced the poisoning: “I don't hurt at all, I just know that I'm dying. Then I hear voices getting quieter, a woman shouting: 'Don't faint now!' Then it's over. I know I'm dead. It just turned out later that I was wrong." When you read it today, a cold shiver runs down your spine (here is the conversation).
All current developments here in the news blog.
2. Nuclear entry now?
[M] Tom Sandner / DER SPIEGEL; John Schoebel / Polaris / ddp
Does Germany need its own atomic bomb? A question that has been taboo for decades is suddenly forcing its way onto the political agenda. A team led by my colleagues Martin Knobbe and René Pfister researched how dangerous a second term in office for Donald Trump, who questions NATO's promise of support for Europe, could be.
René spoke in Washington with the arch-conservative strategist Sumantra Maitra, who is calling for a radical reduction in US involvement in Europe. “Did the Europeans really believe that NATO’s old security architecture would last forever?” asked Maitra. (Here is the whole interview.)
Martin researched the environment of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who has so far avoided discussing a European nuclear umbrella. “Even if the idea of a pan-European atomic bomb seems dystopian and would be incredibly difficult to implement, it is negligent not to engage in a debate in the first place,” says Martin.
Read the full story here: Good morning, Europe
3. Hard in Seoul
Enlarge image
Jürgen Klinsmann
Photo:
Meng Gao / VCG / IMAGO
Jürgen Klinsmann has lost his job as coach of the South Koreans after the team was eliminated from the Asian Cup against Jordan. As I read the headline, perhaps the most embarrassing football song started playing in my head:
»And thanks to Jürgen Klinsmann's great vision,
we dreamed of victory and we already had it.
We raise you to the football throne once again.
Please don’t go now, we’ll double your wages.”
In 2006, Xavier Naidoo thanked the team leader of the Summer Fairy Tale team with these bumpy rhymes. Even football amateurs like me were carried away by the enthusiasm for the World Cup. But apparently I always overestimated Klinsmann's contribution, as my colleague Marcus Krämer says: "Klinsmann was a motivator - admittedly not an unimportant element for a coach - but the tactical innovations in the German game are said to have been due to Löw."
A look at Klinsmann's career stages after his DFB commitment would make any personnel officer frown: gaps in his CV, rarely staying anywhere for long:
FC Bayern 2008 to 2009,
US national team 2011 to 2016,
a few weeks at Hertha BSC in winter 2019/2020
And it hasn't been a full year in South Korea, and again the collaboration ended prematurely. “Klinsmann always had big plans as a coach, but got in his own way,” says Marcus. Sounds like: “Always tried hard.”
Read more here: The Lord of Misunderstandings
What else is important today?
Germans saved more than four billion euros on electricity and gas in 2023:
A mild winter and high energy prices led to significant savings in electricity and gas consumption last year. The federal government also benefited from citizens' thrift.
Number of journalists killed at highest level in years:
More journalists were killed in the first three months of the war between Israel and Hamas than ever in any country in a year. This also means that the global balance sheet of the CPJ protection committee has increased significantly.
USA sends satellite protective shield into space: At the same time as reports of an alleged nuclear satellite weapon from Russia, the US Department of Defense has launched the prototype of a new satellite constellation into space. It is apparently intended to better protect the country from attacks in the future.
My favorite glosses today: Seen like this
Enlarge image
Farmers protests in Berlin
Photo: Christoph Soeder/dpa
In the future, you will always find my colleague Stefan Kuzmany's column "Looking like this" here on Fridays as part of the situation in the evening. Today it's about blockages for everyone, Stefan writes:
In view of effective farmer blockades, discontent among non-agricultural interest groups is growing. "It can't be the case that the farmers get all the attention just because they have tractors," said a statement published on Friday by the "General Association of Dissatisfied Society" (Gug).
The association complains about an “inequality of opportunity that threatens democracy,” as was recently demonstrated during a blockade in Biberach, Swabia: “While a handful of farmers can paralyze entire events with their agricultural machinery, hardly anyone notices other protests.” Overall, social groups are without Access to large equipment is significantly disadvantaged: "If you don't cancel trains and flights or block highways, you need a disproportionate number of demonstrating staff in order to achieve an effect." Unsatisfied nursing staff or teachers hardly have any work material suitable for blockades.
That should change now. In cooperation with the nationwide active agricultural machinery rings, the Gug wants to organize the rental of towing vehicles to those willing to protest from all sectors in the future. Basic courses in handling heavy equipment should also be offered. Comprehensive control of the machines is not necessary "for a good cause": "Basically, they just have to be driven to the blockade site and parked there in a large area." Amateur use may even be an advantage because it allows the protest to be ended quickly, even under police supervision threat of punishment could significantly delay.
According to the Gug, the federal government should subsidize the rental of protest equipment using funds to promote democracy. Otherwise there is a risk of a first deployment: “We are parking the Chancellery.”
You can find all episodes of »Seen this way« here.
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+
Cracks in the Orbán system:
Two resignations from the inner circle of power, plus serious accusations against other confidants: Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is experiencing perhaps the most dramatic phase of his term in office. And there is a threat of mass protests in the capital.
Wagenknecht's heirs:
With Sahra Wagenknecht and her loyal followers, major disruptive factors are gone. But the left continues to argue anyway. Party leader Janine Wissler is threatened with a power struggle for the leadership of the remaining members of the Bundestag. Time is running out.
"It's pretty strange in the state of Denmark":
The entrepreneur Eugen Block contradicts the accusation that his daughter had two of her children kidnapped from Denmark. And describes the years of conflict with her ex-husband from his perspective.
Which is less important today
Bass there
:
Paul McCartney
, 81, has the bass guitar back that he bought from a Hamburg music store in 1961 and that was stolen from him in London in 1972. The former Beatles star confirmed this on his website. Fans and an employee of the manufacturer Höfner helped find the instrument and set up a website with the title: “The Lost Bass Project”.
Mini concave mirror
You can find the entire concave mirror here.
Cartoon of the day
And on the weekend?
Could you take a musical journey back in time to the noughties and listen to Jennifer Lopez's new album, maybe even dance to it. "If a crop top could sound like music, it would sound like 'This Is Me... Now'," says my colleague Jurek Skrobala from our culture department. That's the title of J-Lo's new album, her first in around ten years. However, Jurek also thinks: "It not only sounds belly-baring, but also glitters soullessly in the effort to revive the noughties." (More here.) But isn't that what every good retro party feels like?
I wish you a relaxing weekend.
Yours, Oliver Trenkamp, Blattmacher in the editor-in-chief