Good morning dear readers,
In addition to headlines such as “Hurricane alarm in Germany” or “This is how he can tell whether the sex was good”, there was an interesting report on his own behalf on the “Bild” website yesterday evening. The front-page news of the “Bild quake”, which was actually due, was soberly transformed into: “Change in the Bild editor-in-chief”. Axel Springer stood there and, according to press research, had “released Julian Reichelt, 41, from his duties”, what you say as a packaging specialist when someone is fired. In terms of childbirth, Johannes Boie, 37, was given birth as the chief editor-in-chief.
By the way, “press research” meant the “New York Times”, which knowledgeably quoted from the compliance proceedings against Reichelt for abuse of power that were concluded in the spring. It ended with the journalist re-entering the orbit of the “image” cosmos.
(Photo: imago images / Jörg Schüler)
This story leaves many relieved and many damaged:
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- First of all, there is Julian Reichelt himself, an ex-war reporter who likes to be martial and whose stories of women became the subject of the republic.
- This is followed by Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner, 58, who was loyal to Reichelt. In the matter of Corona, he found that his protégé was “really the last and only journalist in Germany who is still bravely rebelling against the new GDR authority state” (“GDR” written without quotes, by the way). Now it is said that after making their own inquiries, the Springer management board found out that even after completing the compliance procedure, Reichelt “did not clearly separate private and professional matters and told the management board the untruth”.
- There is actually the entire Springer Group, wants to be the champion of digital journalism and for this purpose expanded with the expensive purchase of the platforms “Business Insider” and “Politico” in the USA – and had to fear damage to its reputation there due to the “Bild” flogging. The Reichelt ejection is a strategic emergency brake.
- And finally, the recognized publisher Dirk Ippen is also affected, to which the “Münchner Merkur”, the “Frankfurter Rundschau” or the “Hessische Niedersächsische Allgemeine” belong. The 81-year-old had stopped a Reichelt disclosure story of his investigative team shortly before the planned publication last Sunday – with consideration for the economic competition to Springer.
Agatha Christie never liked journalists and in her books she let them all die. But William Faulkner was smarter: “People are no worse now than they were before. Only the reporting of their actions has become more thorough. “
Whenever there was talk of a “soft currency” euro, the politically agreed “Maastricht criteria” entered the debate like sturdy tin soldiers of stability. Only three percent new debt and a maximum of 60 percent debt of the gross domestic product were the promises – which in most countries in the euro zone have little to do with reality. The average debt is 100 percent.
Our cover story analyzes the EU Commission starting a consultation process today that could lead to lax budget requirements. The upcoming consolidation process, driven by member states like France, must be “sustainable and growth-friendly”, says a commission paper. Maastricht is wasted.
The objection to the ongoing negotiations for a “traffic light coalition” comes from FDP member of the Bundestag Thomas Sattelberger. In the Handelsblatt guest commentary, the ex-board member of Continental and Deutsche Telekom recorded “ten ways to Germany as an innovation nation”. There are problems with bureaucracy, mental silos, misguided incentives, big egos and decoupling from entrepreneurship, according to Sattelberger – and he thinks that the “ten billion euro future fund of the federal government actually belongs to be multiplied by ten”.
Private financiers could fill this pecuniary void, many medium-sized companies are thirsting for Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects in which they could strengthen the innovative local ecosystems through regional venture capital arms. Most of the research funding was still going to the established, the author laments and formulates: “We feed Goliaths, David’s starvation.”
In Italy one can only dream of Dolce Vita as in pre-Corona times: 3G has been mandatory in all professions there since Friday. If there is no vaccination, proof of recovery or testing, the person will be suspended from duty, with no salary. A model for Germany too? Or is that going too far? Write us your opinion in four or five sentences. We will publish selected contributions on Thursday in the readers’ forum, in print and online, with attribution.
It was one of those “dishwasher” careers that Americans love. Grew up in the South Bronx, New York, the son of Jamaican immigrants, then a soldier in Vietnam with a subsequent military career. This unstoppable Colin Powell became the first black national security advisor in 1987, first black chief of staff of the US armed forces in 1989 (invasions in Panama and Kuwait) and finally in 2001 the first black US secretary of state in the cabinet of George W. Bush.
But his false statements about Iraq to the whole world, which led to the invasion of many Western armies, caused dark spots on his good image. The alleged evidence of Saddam Hussein’s weapons of mass destruction was simply “fake news”, politically intentional manipulation. The Republican Powell regretted this time and again – just as he refused that someone like Donald Trump moved into the White House. At the age of 84, the military man who became a minister died as a result of his Covid illness.
And then there is the man with the unforgettable name Peter Peters, 59, who wants to become number one in German football. To this end, he is stepping down as head of the supervisory board of the German Football League (DFL), the pact of professional clubs – in order to apply to the Bundestag on March 11, 2022 as President of the German Football Association (DFB). “I approach the matter without a net or a false bottom,” says Peters, which includes failure. The larger amateur area has better chances with the likely own candidate Bernd Neuendorf from the Mittelrhein Association.
And some also remember how Peters, as CFO of FC Schalke 04, drove the club into ever greater financial adventures and debts. With the large amount of money on credit, overpaid players were bought and the Gelsenkirchen team had to be relegated to the second division. Downright ludicrous if the person responsible for the malaise would now be rewarded with first class. The Dortmund manager Hans-Joachim Watzke is also being discussed as the new DFL boss. The final quote on the Peters case comes from Bertolt Brecht: “Trust is exhausted when it is used.”
I wish you a trusting day.
I warmly greet you
you
Hans-Jürgen Jakobs
Senior editor
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