German Of The Day: Zwickmühle

To be in the Zwickmuhle is to be in a predicament, to be on the horns of a dilemma.

As in Germany’s neighbors (see Ukraine and Poland) despising the pro-Russian policy it has been following forever, bypassing and ignoring them in the process. The punch line: Now the Germans are surprised, even offended that everyone is so upset about it. But it’s not much of a “dilemma,” if you ask me. It’s quite straightforward, really: The Germans went it alone, yet again, placed all their money on Putin & Co., and lost.

The reason for the rejection (for German President Steinmeier being unwelcome in Ukraine) is clearly Steinmeier’s course in recent years, which Kiev considers too Russia-friendly. As foreign minister, he had, among other things, always pushed for the construction of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. “The warnings, it’s true, from our Eastern European partners we should have taken more seriously. Especially as far as the period after 2014 was concerned and the expansion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. And that’s why holding on was certainly a mistake,” Steinmeier had admitted last week. But despite the admission of mistakes and errors: The extent to which Germany’s Russia policy in recent years has caused disquiet and upset in Kiev is only now becoming really clear.

The Steinmeier Formula

Otherwise known as the SPD Formula. It’s quite simple: Take a loaded handgun, point it at your foot, and then fire.

Angela Merkel HERSELF adopted the formula HERSELF. But her “conservative” CDU/CSU was more SPD than the SPD ITSELF so it’s quite understandable why she would have. Sort of.

Ukraine snubs German president over past ‘close ties to Russia’ – Volodymyr Zelenskiy rejects request by Frank-Walter Steinmeier for meeting in Kyiv, Bild reports.

“My sticking to [the Baltic Sea pipeline project] Nord Stream 2, that was definitely a mistake,” he said in Berlin on 4 April. “We held on to bridges that Russia no longer believed in, and of which our partners warned us.”

He added: “We failed to build a common European house. I did not believe Vladimir Putin would embrace his country’s complete economic, political and moral ruin for the sake of his imperial madness.”

German Of The Day: Gescheitert

That means failed.

As in “The German parliament just failed in its attempt to push for mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations.” This is getting scary, people. Imagine. This means that non-vaccinated German citizens will be able to decide for themselves whether they will be vaccinated or not. The horror or something.

Germany’s Scholz says he will not make second push for vaccine mandate – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he was disappointed the lower house of parliament on Thursday voted against a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for people over 60, but would not launch a second attempt to push for a mandate.

Germany’s vaccination campaign is faltering, with around 76.6% of Germany’s population having received at least one dose – less than the more than 80% in other western European countries such as France, Italy and Spain.

A cross-party proposal had envisaged a bill requiring citizens aged 60 and over to be vaccinated against COVID-19 from Oct. 15, in an attempt to avoid another wave of the virus in the autumn.

Back To The Future

Or is it more like escape to the future? Because your plans aren’t panning out now?

Germany unveils plans to accelerate green energy expansion – The package envisages green energy accounting for 80% of the power mix in Europe’s biggest economy by 2030, up from about 40% now and a previous target of 65%.

Sure. It’s easy to set future deadlines for things you haven’t been able to do yet. The tricky part is setting these deadlines for things you’ll never be able to do. Like creating a Renewable German Green Utopia. Here just a few fun facts that nobody here wants to look at:

  • Renewables in Germany contributed to electricity prices rising 50 percent since 2007. Electricity prices here are 45 percent higher than the European average and the highest in Europe. Now. And in that Brave New Future?
  • Wind and solar renewables are unreliable, requiring 100% backup (you need two expensive energy systems, coal and gas in this case because nuclear is still verboten). They are also energy-dilute, that is, not -dense, meaning they require huge tracts of land, transmission lines, mining, etc.
  • An example: If the U.S. was to generate all the energy it uses with renewables, 25% to 50% of all land in the U.S. would be needed. Today’s energy system needs just 0.5 percent of land in the U.S. (Smil, Power Density: A Key to Understanding Energy Sources and Uses).

In other words, running Germany on renewable energy ain’t never gonna happen.

“Ill-Prepared?”

That’s the nice word for it.

Take Berlin, for instance. Practically all of it’s energy is produced using Russian gas. It took the German government(s) many, many years of hard work and the steadfast disregard of warnings from its partners in the West to become this dependent on Russian gas, coal and oil (50%). Now deal with it. Too bad I’m going to have to live/freeze through it, though. Stock up on warm clothing for next winter while the supplies still last, people!

What if the Gas Is Cut Off? – German Industry Prepares for Worst-Case Scenario – German industry and the government in Berlin are ill-prepared for a possible halt in supplies of natural gas from Russia. A new emergency plan is being developed to prevent an economic meltdown if deliveries cease.

Just Like I Got Everything Else Wrong

Ever. But who cares? I’m just the President of Germany.

I got Putin wrong, says chastened German President – German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, long an advocate of Western rapprochement with Russia, expressed regret for his earlier stance, saying his years of support for the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline had been a clear mistake.

Steinmeier, a Social Democrat who served as Foreign Minister under Chancellor Angela Merkel before being elevated to the presidency, said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine meant he and others had to reckon honestly with what they had got wrong.

New Business Model

Man Got 87 Doses Of Covid-19 Coronavirus Vaccines – On some days, he got as many as three separate shots.

Reportedly, each time the man showed up to get vaccinated, he was armed, so to speak, with another blank vaccination document so that the vaccine batch number could be filled in the document after he got the shot. He could then sell these documents to people who wanted to pretend that they had gotten vaccinated and needed faux Covid-19 vaccination records. This scam may have worked, oh the first 80 or so times. But eventually staff members recognized the man, caught on, and notified the police.

It’s Time To Drop Your Masks, Germans

And show us your real faces.

Faces plagued by real problems, for a change. Problems like finding new sources of energy that will keep your homes heated and your economy running (and breaking free from your dependency on Russian energy = 50%), skyrocketing inflation, dire economic forecasts and that little war thing going on in Ukraine just a few miles down the road, for instance. COVID-19? What’s COVID-19?

Starting Friday, a number of rules and restrictions went away in much of Germany. That means no more masks in most shops, and no more proof of vaccination or day-of test in restaurants. Though some public transportation systems, individual businesses and institutions will keep mask requirements in place, the move to drop the majority of mandates tracks with many of Germany’s neighbors.