all good things come in threes, they say to themselves at the governing SPD party. The federal election result was meager, but the federal chancellor and federal president are appointed, plus the head of the Bundesbank. Brothers to the sun, to freedom! What does not go with the jubilant picture in red, is the development of the number of members. On New Year’s Eve 2021, at 393,727, it was below the 400,000 mark for the first time, reports the “Frankfurter Allgemeine”.
At the beginning of 2018 there were still 463,700 members, in 1976 there were even one million. Overall, the Chancellor’s Party appears very senior (average age: 61) and male (proportion: almost 70 percent). The Greens, on the other hand, are currently reporting an increase of 20,000 in a year-on-year comparison with 125,000 members. It has doubled since 2015.
Some in the SPD will join in, as if in front of a monument Willy Brandt Encouraging people who say: “Like no other before, our time is full of opportunities – for good and for bad. Nothing comes by itself.”
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It is probably also surprising for Karl Lauterbach to be satirized as James Bond on the cover of “Spiegel”, with a syringe instead of a gun, and with the line “Quantum of Fear” instead of “Quantum of Solace” (which we could all use better).
Perhaps the Minister of Health wanted to correspond a little to the 007 picture that had an accident when he now warned of difficult weeks. “In view of the currently declining number of hospitals, especially in the intensive care units, we must not feel safe,” said the SPD politician. If the elderly become infected, the number of hospital admissions will increase again. Omicron is not the end of Corona. Does Karl Lauterbach know more?
Charité virologist Christian Drosten counters the ministerial quantum alarmism with unusually optimistic tones. He is “completely sure” that life will go back to how it was before the pandemic – and in not too long a time. Omikron is an “opportunity”, according to Drosten.
The virus must spread, “but on the basis of vaccination protection that is anchored in the general population”. And his colleague Klaus Stöhr explains: “The end of the pandemic is near.” We end this current debate about a talk show king who became a minister with the writer and James Bond inventor Ian Fleming: “The difference between genius and madness is one and only alone in success.”
The reputation of a party grandmaster is very detrimental in Corona times. There are always new stories circulating in Great Britain about how much Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his team let it rip, even on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021. Against the burden of the pandemic, 10 Downing Street turned to “King Alcohol” as a relaxant.
The London celebration beast now wants to respond with demonstrative severity to the many demands for his resignation, including from his own conservative party. Some senior members of his staff are reported to be leaving, including the bureau chief. Johnson himself apparently wants to leave it at his “Sorry, sorry” for “Partygate”.
If you listen to Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, there is a huge world conspiracy against his homeland – with Australia as the aggressor. The “down under” state did not send any planes to the Balkans, but simply allowed itself to apply its own corona rules. So an unvaccinated person who apparently gave false information when applying for a visa and a special permit was not allowed into the country.
Now all the world will carefully study the reasoning expected for today. And then continue to discuss whether world number one Novak Djokovic, 34, really wasn’t allowed to show his tennis skills at the “Australian Open”. Serbia and anti-vaccination have a martyr – and Melbourne tennis tournament organizers have lost revenue. As a guarantor for high TV ratings, Djokovic is more socially acceptable than in the role of the felt ball esoteric.
German industry is in a fast-paced race for green hydrogen. Here now the Leverkusen plastics producer Covestro, a Bayer spin-off, new characters. And with a supply agreement that is gigantic by European standards.
My colleagues found out that the Dax group will be purchasing 100,000 tons of the substance it is looking for every year from the Australian manufacturer Fortescue Future Industries. According to the seller, this saves 900,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year. The deal is set to go public today.
The development of a hydrogen economy is a “mammoth task,” says Covestro board member Klaus Schäfer: “We would therefore welcome it if other companies soon followed our example.” When it comes to expensive projects, it’s better not to be left alone.
And then there is the energy company Eon, which has alienated its customers in Great Britain. They are suffering from skyrocketing energy costs, but received strange mail from the Essen-based group. After unpacking, 30,000 people were astonished at the free polyester socks and even more at the polite accompanying letter with the tip to reduce their own CO2 footprint by turning down the heating. A sock recipient rants about the “pathetic package”, another writes: “I don’t want your cheap, nasty free socks, I want cheaper electricity bills please.”
Eon apologized. Thilo Sarrazin could have the copyright for the action. In 2008, as Berlin’s finance senator, he appealed against high energy costs by setting a room temperature of 16 degrees and wearing a thick sweater. These textiles would have been clearly too expensive for Eon as a gift.
I wish you a successful, definitely polyester-free start to the week.
Best regards
Her
Hans Jürgen Jakobs
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