1. The cannabis law is coming, but the discontent of many state politicians will probably continue to cause political friction
There is a lot of debate about the dangers of the drug cannabis, and actor Bill Murray summarized his opinion like this. "The most dangerous thing about cannabis is that you get caught with it." Today the Federal Council decided that the fear of being caught with cannabis should be over, at least for many people in Germany. The cannabis legalization law passed by the Bundestag is coming – despite resistance in many countries.
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Karl Lauterbach in the Federal Council: Any bumps in implementation will be felt by the minister
Photo:
Bernd von Jutrczenka/dpa
My colleague Sophie Garbe and my colleagues Ansgar Siemens, Steffen Winter, Matthias Bartsch and Lukas Eberle report that there was resistance to the decision until the very end. "Today's decision is one of the biggest mistakes in German politics," complained Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer, a CDU member. "The consequences will concern us for decades." He considers the law to be technically and medically wrong.
I don't think it's an exaggeration to call today's decision historic. Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach, who is a member of the SPD, had feared until recently that the mediation committee would be called and that cannabis legalization would not survive the delay. The law now comes into force as planned. From April 1st, adults will be allowed to possess up to 25 grams of cannabis for personal consumption. The distribution takes place via so-called cannabis clubs, and cultivation there is financed through membership fees. There is no open sale. The clubs are allowed to open from July 1st. You are allowed to grow up to three cannabis plants yourself. Consumption near schools or daycare centers is prohibited.
“The states now have to implement the new rules on cannabis, whether they want to or not,” write my colleague and colleagues. »For Lauterbach, the topic probably doesn't end there. The dissatisfaction in many countries remains - they will probably make the minister feel any bumps in implementation."
Read the whole story here: This is how the cannabis crime case ended in the Federal Council
2. The DFB is separating from Adidas after 70 years and switching to Nike - also because of the pressing need for money
The news that the German Football Association will rely on Nike and no longer on Adidas as a supplier from 2027 is exciting many people in Germany. My colleague Peter Ahrens reports that the DFB could have severed its old partnership with its partner Adidas, which was a partner for many years.
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1954 World Cup victory in Bern: The first joint triumph for Adidas and the DFB
Photo:
AFP
But despite a financially attractive change offer in 2007, the officials back then decided to maintain tradition: "The German Football Association and the sporting goods manufacturer Adidas: they were inseparably linked for decades." Apparently the DFB's financial worries were also an important argument for this the change.
My manager magazine colleague Christoph Neßhöver describes the DFB's decision in favor of Nike with the nice word "bloodshed"; the attacker was Adidas boss Bjørn Gulden.
The partnership between the Football Association and Adidas has long been a symbol for the German economy, especially when there have been joint triumphs between Adidas and the DFB. “The change in supplier that DFB President Bernd Neuendorf decided to do can also be read as a symbol of the growing feeling in the country that politics and companies are being left behind in global comparison,” writes colleague Neßhöver. The deal with the US brand shows “how bad things are with German football,” precisely because the DFB has had considerable financial concerns for years.
My colleague Tim Bartz is very sober in his commentary on the change of supplier from an economic expert's point of view. There is talk of a lack of local patriotism on the part of the DFB, the destruction of a piece of homeland, a symbol of the impending downfall of the local economy. »There hasn't been more nonsense in the debate culture in this country, which is so full of nonsense, for a long time. Because no one can really blame the DFB for accepting the offer from Beaverton, Oregon, which is apparently worth twice as much - how else could the association, which is cash-strapped due to numerous transgressions and has been miserably run for a long time, alleviate its financial difficulties?"
At the European Championship, it is not the German team that is the favorite, but the team from France, says colleague Bartz. France is the country "from which the wonderful sporting goods manufacturer Le Coq Sportif comes - and whose national team, called Les Bleus, has been wearing stylish Nike jerseys for years."
Read more here: What matters is the account
And the comment on the DFB's departure from Adidas: Waidwound Patriots
3. Because it is left behind internationally when it comes to electric cars, the German auto industry is facing an existential crisis
Sometimes I drive electric cars when I use car sharing in Hamburg or Berlin. But buy an electric car? Is too expensive for me. Apparently many people in Germany think like me. Even car rental companies like Sixt are removing electric vehicles from their range because they consider the financial risk to be too high. The automotive electric transition, a central modernization project of the traffic light coalition, is in danger of failing because most citizens are not taking part, because the manufacturers' offer is not right, because the political framework conditions are not right.
“The Electric Shock” is the title of the new SPIEGEL. You can get the issue digitally here and at the kiosk from Saturday.
The current SPIEGEL cover story reports on how the German car companies VW, Daimler and BMW, which have been admired globally for years, are being left behind internationally when it comes to electric vehicles.
The Germans' success depended on the combustion engine. Now they are even being pressured by Chinese electric car manufacturers on their home market. It seems as if one has to fear for the survival of Germany as a nation of cars.
My colleagues Simon Book, Alexander Demling, Georg Fahrion, Christoph Giesen, Simon Hage and Martin Hesse report that German politics has promoted the misery with an unprecedented lurching course, despite all commitments to clean mobility. »The federal government canceled the purchase bonus for electric vehicles on a Friday in mid-December, and on Monday no buyer received the subsidy of up to 4,500 euros. A snap action that unsettled consumers and left car bosses stunned."
The question is whether Germany and its car manufacturers will go along with the change and help shape it - or whether they will be overwhelmed by the change, according to colleagues. »The pace and technology are now determined by others. In China, the largest car market in the world, almost one in four new cars sold is purely electric.”
Read the whole story here: The electric shock
What else is important today?
Woman leads Navy combat unit for the first time:
Women are still a minority in the Bundeswehr. In the Navy, a female soldier is now taking over a squadron for the first time. The frigate captain Inka von Puttkamer was previously active on minehunting boats.
Federal Council approves abolition of agricultural diesel subsidies:
Despite weeks of farmers' protests, the Federal Council approved the abolition of agricultural diesel subsidies. The federal government is now promising farmers other relief.
Volcanic cloud from Iceland moves over Europe:
The volcanic eruption near the coastal town of Grindavík could be seen for kilometers. Traces of the eruption can now also be found across continental Europe. Clouds of smoke and ash are moving across several states.
My favorite story today: No joke – East Frisians now grow wine
In these March days, gray skies, drizzle and muddy fields characterize the North German lowlands, but my colleague Gerald Franz reports that winemakers are now trying to grow wine in East Frisia.
“Not even the vines look prototypical,” says his story. »No gnarled sticks erupting from weathered shale. Instead, on flat ground covered with grass, there are thin plants with a few woody shoots stretching upwards." Of course, the story is about brave people who have to cope with difficult conditions, but also about a lot of idealism. This much has already been revealed: "Whether the North German plain is suitable for the wine of the future remains to be seen."
Read the whole story here: Souvignier Gris behind the dike
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+
Trickster in Chief:
The judiciary should stop Donald Trump before the presidential election - that is the hope of many US Democrats. But the Republican is delaying the criminal trials. Will he just get away with it?
And if Macron is right?
France's president does not want to rule out sending soldiers to Ukraine. In doing so, he alienated Chancellor Olaf Scholz, but many military experts are on his side. What's behind Macron's strategy.
"A burger is not a quinoa bowl":
Dirt, expired food and vegan burgers that weren't: research by "Team Wallraff" has shaken Burger King. What the new boss Jörg Ehmer wants to change and what grievances he has already called branch managers about.
Which is less important today
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Photo: Darren Staples / AFP
Sports fashion expert in Downing Street:
Rishi Sunak
, 43, British Prime Minister, has intervened in the discussion about the new jersey of the England national football team. The US manufacturer Nike, which will soon be involved in the German national team, has supplemented the traditional red so-called St. George's Cross on the collar of the jersey with shades of blue and purple in the new model. National flags should “not be tampered with,” said Sunak, “because they are a source of pride and our identity. They’re perfect just the way they are.”
Mini concave mirror
You can find the entire concave mirror here.
Cartoon of the day
And on the weekend?
Could you watch the Netflix fairy tale film “Damsel”. Millie Bobby Brown plays a princess named Elodie, whose kingdom is poor and whose population is starving.
When her father receives an offer from a rich royal family to sell Elodie to a prince, he accepts - but the alleged groom soon throws Elodie into the mouth of a huge mountain in which a female dragon lives. My colleague Elisa von Hof calls the film “a beautiful allegory of classism and sexism” and “a survival tale that is also fun for adults.” (Read the full review here.)
A lovely evening. Heartfelt
Yours, Wolfgang Höbel, author in the culture department