1. It would be self-destructive for the FDP to provoke the end of the traffic lights
The writers Benjamin von Stuckrad-Barre and Martin Suter announced today that they will publish a book with conversations in the fall. I like the title and it fits our times very well; it should read: “No reason to shout like that.”
I know both Stuckrad-Barre and Suter a little, and it seems to me that their cleverly devised slogan applies quite well to many of today's conflicts. For example, the dispute between the traffic light parties, which is currently being fueled primarily by politicians from the FDP.
Today its general secretary, Bijan Djir-Sarai, named demands that his party finds necessary for an “economic turnaround.” According to Djir-Sarai, this includes “at least falling taxes, massive reductions in bureaucracy for companies and combating the shortage of skilled workers,” and our welfare state also needs to become “more targeted.”
Top politicians from the FDP are currently reporting almost daily to increase the pressure for reforms in the traffic light coalition. Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner, for example, is calling for an "update" on citizens' money and has doubts about the coal phase-out in 2030. Before their federal party conference at the end of the month, the Liberals probably want to position themselves as a force for reform.
My colleague Severin Weiland writes in the SPIEGEL editorial about the possible motives for Lindner and colleagues' statements from the past few days to escalate the confrontation at the traffic lights. »There are rumors circulating in Berlin that Lindner wants to drive his traffic light partners so far into a corner with ever new impositions until there is no other way out, even for the SPD and the Greens, than the end of the coalition. There is a historical model for this: the end of the social-liberal coalition in 1982.
In fact, some things are reminiscent of the situation at the time: the economic downturn, the dispute about less or more state. However, the situation for the FDP today is fundamentally different than it was 42 years ago, said my colleague. There is no other coalition option for them in terms of power politics. According to the surveys, new elections would primarily benefit the AfD. “The FDP would be in danger of being thrown out of the Bundestag for the second time in its history,” writes Severin. »It would then also be the political end of Lindner. His course could end up being self-destructive. Working towards an end to the traffic lights would be political folly, with which the FDP would say goodbye as the state-supporting and stabilizing force of this republic.
Read the SPIEGEL editorial here: Christian Lindner's dangerous course
2. The high fuel prices have to do with the uncertain situation in the Middle East
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Gas station in Neuhausen, Baden-Württemberg: Gasoline has become more expensive since mid-March
Photo:
Marijan Murat/dpa
Gasoline has been getting more and more expensive in Germany for weeks. A liter of E10 petrol recently cost an average of 1.83 euros - around eleven cents more than at the beginning of the year. There is a lot to suggest that fuel will soon become even more expensive, including the sharp rise in oil prices. My colleague Stefan Schultz is reporting today on the reasons for the price increase.
According to raw material experts, the most important price driver for oil is the uncertain situation in the Middle East. »Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Iran are some of the world's most important oil producing nations there. The Strait of Hormuz runs between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, a 55 kilometer narrow strait through which around a fifth of the world's oil exports are shipped. There is correspondingly great concern that the conflict will spread in the region - especially to Iran , which openly supports Hamas' terror against Israel. This could cause oil supplies to become more scarce. Many companies are currently sailing around the Red Sea out of fear of attacks by the Houthi militias.
The prospects for global economic growth, which have improved due to good economic data from the USA and China, are also likely to increase demand for the raw material oil. There are also structural changes in the automobile market. “According to the ADAC, customers are increasingly buying cars with gasoline engines again, including many hybrid vehicles,” says my colleague Stefan. "All of this basically drives demand for gasoline."
Read the whole story here: What speaks for further rising fuel prices
3. Sales of Teslas recently collapsed in Germany
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Tesla production in Grünheide
Photo:
Patrick Pleul/dpa
Does Elon Musk, a billionaire known for bizarre appearances, have reason to shout at the moment? In any case, it was a catastrophic week for Musk's company Tesla. The world's most valuable automaker shocked stock investors when it released sales figures for the first three months of 2024 on Tuesday. They were well below observers' expectations and also fell compared to the quarter a year earlier.
"Tesla's growth story, which has pushed the company's value to the top of the world, is in acute danger," reports my colleague Alexander Demling in the current issue of SPIEGEL.
This also applies to the wealth of CEO Musk, whose status as currently the third richest person in the world depends heavily on the electric car company's share price. "Tesla's problems have been apparent for longer in Germany than on the global market."
This was shown by sales figures, according to which the group sold fewer cars in 2023 than in the previous year - against the trend of other large e-car markets in Europe. Tesla increased sales worldwide by a third in 2023, but they only collapsed in the first quarter of 2024.
“The extent of the weakness in this country is surprising,” said my colleague. In January and February, the electric car manufacturer, which operates its only European factory in Grünheide near Berlin, only sold 9,200 vehicles. In the same period last year there were 11,900.
The federal government's decision to completely cancel the purchase bonus for electric vehicles in mid-December cannot alone explain Tesla's decline in sales at the beginning of the year. "In addition to the generally weak economy for electric cars, Tesla is faced with several problems that the company and its boss are responsible for themselves," reports Alexander, including "Tesla's erratic price reduction policy, which failed to achieve its goal of increasing sales, but caused the residual value of used vehicles to plummet left."
Read the whole story here: Tesla has a Germany problem
What else is important today?
Trump fails with application to stop proceedings in Georgia:
After losing the 2020 election, Donald Trump is said to have tried to change the result. Several people involved pleaded guilty. However, the ex-president wanted to avert his own proceedings with questionable reasons.
Union is outraged by the Foreign Office's Arabic tweet:
A foreign mission of the Foreign Office provides information on X about the traffic light's new naturalization law - including flowery words in Arabic. For politicians from the CDU and CSU, the formulation goes too far.
Not even every tenth major German city is doing enough to expand solar power:
sales of photovoltaic systems are booming in Germany - especially for private use. Nevertheless, solar expansion is not progressing nearly fast enough. Only seven major cities meet their target.
Israel fires two officers after killing international aid workers:
A team from the World Central Kitchen was killed by Israeli shelling in the Gaza Strip, now the army is taking action. The military also describes a whole series of errors.
My favorite story today:
On Fridays you can always find my colleague Stefan Kuzmany's column "Looking like this" here as part of the situation in the evening. Today Stefan writes about how Bavaria wants to take in 20,000 elephants from Botswana:
Botswana wants to give Germany 20,000 elephants - they could find a new home in the south of the republic.
A solution is emerging in the conflict with the African state of Botswana over planned import difficulties for big game hunting trophies: the Free State of Bavaria wants to give in. This was preceded by Botswana's President Mokgweetsi Masisi's threat to donate 20,000 wild elephants to the Federal Republic of Germany in order to enable Germans to experience the problems of coexistence in practice.
Because the federal government has so far refused to seriously address the planned donation, high costs could further strain the already strained federal budget. Nevertheless, in the opinion of international understanding expert Anja Weisgerber (CSU), there is hardly any way around accepting the animals: "It is diplomatic practice to accept gifts from other countries," she told the "Bild" newspaper. According to their calculations, around 18 elephants could fit in a Boeing 747, which would require more than 2,200 return (empty) flights. Alternatively, all the elephants could fit in a container ship at once, although food and care would still have to be provided.
Until recently, the biggest problem was housing the animals. An area the size of Brandenburg would be necessary. Bavaria now surprisingly wants to step in here: “The elephants are very welcome in the Free State,” said Weisgerber at a joint press conference with the Bavarian Prime Minister Markus Söder. Söder wants to put 37 elephants into the service of the Mountain Infantry Brigade 23; he is already planning to cross the Alps under his command. “We are taking on federal responsibility,” says Söder: “We from the CSU have sent so many cattle to the rest of the republic over the years – now it’s our turn.”
You can find all episodes of »Seen this way« here.
What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+
“As far as comrades Stegner and Mützenich are concerned, one is reminded of Donald Trump”:
backward-looking, populist, anti-intellectual: Jan C. Behrends judges the SPD harshly. The historian is a party member and calls for a ruthless examination of the social democratic policy towards Russia.
The world of cycling is in shock:
Vingegaard, Evenepoel, Roglič, Kämna, van Aert: five prominent professional cyclists were seriously injured within a week. These are not good omens for the most difficult of all spring classics on Sunday.
Buying votes in American terms:
If you want to get into the White House, you need money. Lot of money. Joe Biden is still ahead in the race for donations. But can he maintain his lead over Donald Trump?
Which is less important today
Back in the cinema future
:
Michael J. Fox
, 62, Hollywood actor suffering from Parkinson's disease, would be ready for a film comeback. Fox, who is known, among other things, for his role in the classic film “Back to the Future,” announced his retirement from Hollywood in 2020. But now he says he can imagine stepping in front of the camera again for a film: "I would act if something came along that I could bring my experiences into."
Mini concave mirror
You can find the entire concave mirror here.
Cartoon of the day
And tonight?
Could you read Andreas Scheuer's ex-speaker's novel, a "ministry crime thriller," according to the publisher, with the title "Secrets, Lies and Other Currencies." My colleague Stefan Kuzmany writes very happily about the book by Wolfgang Ainetter, who was once head of communications in Scheuer's Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, and which should obviously be treated with caution. “Key novels are always a mixed blessing,” he knows; they sometimes say more about the author than about his subject. The former journalist Ainetter apparently worked in hell. "The ministry he describes is almost exclusively home to humorless, gray characters." Nobody laughs there, and if they do, they are punished. "The minister, a certain Dr. Felix Rohr, actually only appears in passing. He’s a more or less likeable, largely clueless joker.”
A lovely evening. Heartfelt
Yours, Wolfgang Höbel, author in the culture department