The politicians who are least successful in their countries when it comes to Corona are, as before, the greatest verbal agitators: Markus Söder from Bavaria and Michael Kretschmer from Saxony. The Saarland CDU colleague Tobias Hans shows that the possibilities of the states have not been exhausted at all. He ordered a lockdown for the unvaccinated, i.e. only going to a restaurant with 2G, and intensified the already successful vaccination campaign. A corona summit is not necessary for this.
An even more important decision on fundamental rights in the pandemic will also be made today, in Karlsruhe. There the Federal Constitutional Court decides on the legality, i.e. proportionality, of the federal emergency brake from April. In some cases, it provided for strict contact restrictions with an incidence value of 100 new infections per 100,000 inhabitants, and even a night curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. could be imposed. And at a value of 165 schools should remain closed.
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Citizens filed a total of 8,500 complaints against this form of emergency brake. The constitutional judges have provisionally approved some things since then. It is particularly questionable whether the school closings with all the social and psychological damage to children and young people was necessary.
The federal emergency brake has now been dismantled, a first major feat of the new traffic light coalition. Politicians can now hope for guidance for their corona laws from Karlsruhe. “Then it will also answer what would be possible with a view to the lockdown,” says Greens co-boss Annalena Baerbock.
(Photo: ddp / action press)
In an interview with Handelsblatt, Doris Pfeiffer believes that the traffic lights still have to increase when it comes to Corona. The intensive care units in the east and south would fill up. In detail, the CEO of the Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds says about …
- tougher measures: “I have the hope that people will be sensible and reduce their contacts. Personally, I can gain a lot from a general vaccination requirement. “
- the coalition agreement: “We welcome a whole range of points, such as faster digitization, the plan to structure the hospital landscape, or the plan to provide unnecessary inpatient treatments in clinics more on an outpatient basis. The question is, of course, how the measures will actually be implemented. “
- the amount of the social security contributions: “In the long run it makes no sense to draw in such limits as the current 40 percent. In the 1960s, health insurance premiums were less than half of what they are today. And at that time it was already said that the load capacity had been exceeded. “
“Take care of the penny,” recommended George Bernard Shaw, “the taler will take care of itself”.
At the end of last week, at the “French German Business Forum” supported by “Les Echos” and our editorial team, ex-Siemens boss Joe Kaeser spoke courageously about the system competition. He promoted a “new start” for Europe. If you are late, a constellation will come true: Europe is the past, America is the present, China is the future. The EU Commission is countering this with 300 billion euros, the “Global Gateway” strategy and the vision of a modern infrastructure in developing and emerging countries, as our title report reveals.
Above all, the investment program is a response to China’s “New Silk Road” project, in which many countries are already involved. The German EU ambassador Michael Clauss already sees an end to the Chinese hegemonic power: “Global Gateway has the potential to make the EU an effective geopolitical actor” – as long as colonial old sins do not counteract such noble intentions.
If the Twitter boss has a message on his own behalf, he of course tweets it. And so the community could quickly read that CEO Jack Dorsey, 45, is stepping down from office and handing over to Parag Agrawal, Chief Technology Officer, and Chairman Bret Taylor. There were also the usual PR arabesques on such occasions, such as the one that after 16 years in various positions at the top of the company it was time for him to step back. But what does “withdraw” mean here?
The sports fan with the hipster beard tested his fitness level by also running the payment service provider Square. Paul Singer’s investment firm Elliott Management recently criticized these dual services harshly and demanded that they leave in 2020 before an understanding was reached. The current personnel caused violent price movements on Twitter, initially upwards. As an individual, Dorsey has moved a lot, most likely his own account balance.
The thesis was bold, the acronym catchy, the originator, as Goldman Sachs’ chief economist, respectable: Jim O’Neill, 64, had exactly 20 years ago all the trump cards on his side to propagate “BRIC”, the abbreviation for the future world domination of the states Brazil, Russia, India and China.
Well, you have to realize today that Brazil is stuck in the swamp of corruption and crime, Russia is still practicing oligarchic capitalism, and India is barely making any headway either. Only China has now risen to become the new superpower, despite an aging population and despite excessive debt. The share in the global gross domestic product has increased from 7.3 to 18.3 percent since 2000.
In an interview with the Handelsblatt, O’Neill stuck to his theorems: “The economic output of the BRIC countries will be greater than that of the seven large industrialized countries G7 before 2040.” The wealthy economist, since 2015 as a “life peer” member of the “House of Lords “, fights bravely against Mark Twain:” One should absolutely avoid predictions, especially those about the future. “
The traffic light coalition holds out the prospect of an “alliance for freedom, justice and sustainability”. The designated Federal Minister of Transport Volker Wissing (FDP) attracts attention with the plan to lower the vehicle tax for diesel vehicles in return for higher energy taxes. What do you think: is Wissing the right person to drive the traffic turnaround? Which measures would be suitable to provide impetus for green change? Write us your opinion in four to five sentences [email protected]. We will publish selected contributions on Thursday in print and online, with attribution.
And then there is French President Emmanuel Macron, whose supporters can be found under a new name for the re-election in the spring. The name is no longer “En Marche!”, As in 2017, but “Ensemble Citoyens!” The marching order became a social appeal, a resolute “Citizens together!” So it is pathetic, because the term “Citoyen” – once for citizens entitled to vote the Cité – the pride of the revolution of 1789 resonates, the elevation of the third estate. The fact that Macron appears to some as a “bourgeois” is another matter.
In any case, yesterday evening “Ensemble Citoyens!” Celebrated its foundation and its members: La République en Marche (LREM), the center party MoDem and the Horizons party of ex-Prime Minister Édouard Philippe. The country needs “long-term prospects”, he says, which could include its own presidential candidacy in 2027. The right-wing extremist Éric Zemmour’s application for the Élysée Palace is also expected this week. Even Marine Le Pen seems moderate against him.
The thought question of the day comes from Victor Hugo: “Are we happy because we are good or are we good because we are happy?”
I wish you a happy day on which you are of course also good.
I warmly greet you
you
Hans-Jürgen Jakobs
Senior editor
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