Scholz lives with the “Ricola” strategy

When the traffic light coalition meets today in Meseberg Castle for its first closed conference, media criticism will play a role. After all, conference leader Olaf Scholz tried to catch his crash in the polls in time for the state elections in Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia on Monday evening on ZDF on “What now?”.

The chancellor assured his government that he was not making a decision in the style of a PR department – ​​and that Ukraine’s uninviting of the Federal President in mid-April was a “quite remarkable event” that prevented him from visiting Kyiv: “That stands in the way of things .”

When it comes to party friend, predecessor and Putin lobbyist Gerhard Schröder, the social democrat thinks it is “completely unacceptable” that the ex-government continues to hold his jobs at Rosneft and Nord Stream: “I believe that even after the office as Federal Chancellor has an obligation that follows office.”

Conclusion: Scholz is more with Helmut Schmidt than with Schröder.

In the “Journalist” magazine, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit explained the often criticized Scholz communication with an excursion into advertising. He calls it the “Ricola principle” because the slogan for the herbal sweets is: “Who invented it? The Swiss!” If you understand the self-confessed Ricolaist correctly, it depends on Scholz, the inventor.

His spokesman explains that the chancellor first prepares his decisions thoroughly behind closed doors and then publicly explains what has been achieved – while many politicians only boast about what they intend to do. Maybe one day a marmot will appear in Scholz’s election spots like the candy confederates and say: “Just take Scholz”.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz assures that his government is not making a decision in the style of a PR department.

At Meseberg Castle, economists Michael Hüther and Sebastien Dullien will explain to the coalition partners what sanctions against Russia and high inflation mean for the economy. Participants can also read our latest cover story on the consequences of the oil embargo that EU energy ministers are discussing today.

According to information from the Handelsblatt, it is a step-by-step process: First, petrol and diesel from Russia will be dispensed with, then crude oil by the end of the year. Germany agreed to the procedure. The Berlin region in particular would suffer from this. The enormously affected countries Slovakia and Hungary should be helped with longer transition periods.

We agree with Oscar Wilde: “Thinking in your own way is not selfish. If you don’t think in your own way, you don’t think at all.”

In the event that gas becomes scarce as a result of escalating disputes, Klaus Müller, head of the Federal Network Agency, brings a new model into play instead of the state-determined shutdown sequence.

As with the coal phase-out, companies should celebrate bidding in an auction for gas consumption rights: “The market knows better than the state where energy can be saved most efficiently.”

In the Handelsblatt guest commentary, the economists Achim Wambach, Axel Ockenfels and Peter Cramton advocate a similar approach: “Auction instead of assignment.”

The proceeds from the auction could be returned to companies to relieve the burden and the state could bid on gas for private households. Or one could give the contract to those companies that save gas most efficiently. Autumn will show whether the Sotheby’s principle will be applied. Economics Minister Robert Habeck only says: “We will harm ourselves, that much is clear.”

In 1946, Simone de Beauvoir described how terrible eternal life is in her brilliant novel All Men Are Mortal. It is about an Italian patrician’s son who was born in the 13th century and in the 1930s tells a vain actress how nightmares plague him: that one day only he and a mouse that has tasted his immortality drink will be left on earth .

Now the tech elite, above all investor Peter Thiel and Amazon globalist Jeff Bezos, are not following the imagination of a French writer. They invest billions in start-ups to extend human life, describes our “Long Read”. There are three strategies to get there:

  • Rejuvenation through therapy, such as the “vampire solution”, also known as the Dracula method, in which older people have the blood of young people injected into their veins – alternatively, cell rejuvenation programs can help.
  • Lasting health through disease prevention, which is what James Peyer stands for with his holding company Cambrian Biopharma, which aims to reduce the risk of cancer, which also includes the use of stem cells, for example to restore muscle strength.
  • Resuscitation after death, a business model by Alcor, which freezes corpses in nitrogen tanks at minus 196 degrees Celsius so that they can later be resuscitated thanks to medical advances.

We end our somewhat spooky future report with Boston-based Professor Thomas Perls, who studies people over 100 and believes that 200 genes work together to age people. Positive environmental influences and a passion that keeps you young would help.

Conclusion: We like to follow that, as well as the bon mot that rich people want to be young and young people want to be rich.

Nervousness ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s meeting on Wednesday. The world of finance is expecting the next significant interest rate hike of 0.5 percentage points when the interest rate turnaround began in March. This is intended to counteract inflation, which at 8.5 percent is the highest it has been in 40 years. Supply bottlenecks, the Ukraine war and China’s zero-Covid policy are exacerbating the situation.

This is reflected in the falling prices of US government bonds, which came under heavy pressure yesterday. Accordingly, the yield on ten-year government bonds (“Treasuries”) rose above three percent for the first time since December 2018.

Delivery service from Rewe: The retailer wants to start the delivery service in the Ruhr area in late summer.

(Photo: imago images/Michael Gstettenbauer)

Basically, the market for delivery services has as much to do with digitization as postage stamps have with e-mail. Even if nobody makes money here, the market is in anticipation of golden times fought over by illustrious companies such as Gorillas, Knuspr, Bringmeister and Picnic.

And in the second half of the year, Oda from Norway will come with organic products. In this well-sounding e-commerce, the Cologne retail group Rewe feels challenged as the market leader – and closes the last gap in the food delivery network, the Ruhr area.

A separate service will start in the Gelsenkirchen region in late summer. “Then we will consolidate operations and set up more delivery centers,” says Christoph Eltze, Chief Digital Officer. After investing in “Flink” one can imagine further takeovers. Sales of 700 million euros should grow towards a billion – and finally make Rewe Germany’s delivery hero.

And then there is Karl Lagerfeld, who died in 2019, whose fashion brand had sales of around 40 percent more in the previous financial year, at 200 million euros. Such perspectives moved Morris Goldfarb and his listed US company GIII Apparel to buy out the co-investors for 200 million euros and to increase their stake in “Karl Lagerfeld” from 19 percent to 100 percent.

Goldfarb – whose range also includes DKNY, Donna Karan, Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger – even believes that Charlemagne can sell $3 billion: “Ask me again in three years!”

Hotels, residences, sportswear, jeans and digital offerings are planned under the brand. For the workaholics among us, we end with an original Lagerfeld quote: “I hate the word vacation. In French it’s even worse: vacances. Empty. Nothing is more boring than emptiness.”

I wish you a successful working day, but also the best leisure time.

It greets you cordially
Her
Hans Jürgen Jakobs
Senior editor

PS: Are Germany and the EU on the right path with the oil embargo? Will Russia be impressed by this? What consequences do you fear yourself as a consumer – and for the economy? Write us your opinion in five sentences [email protected]. We will publish selected articles with attribution on Thursday in print and online.

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