Tuesday, February 8, 2022

Q-and-A: Germany: 8 Feb 2022

 1.  What came out of the Biden-Scholz meeting yesterday in DC over the Ukraine?

Well....in simple terms....any invasion of the Ukraine immediately means the closure of the Nord Stream II natural gas situation.  It's not pumping right now, and the only recent event is that they did reorganize the distribution company to be in Germany (not Switzerland).  

Some reporter did ask at the press conference....if 'dirty' fracked-up natural gas was in the mix here.  Scholz did make the statement of converting Germany over to hydrogen in the future (something that Norway wanted to get them hooked up to, and invest some capital into).  My general impression is that this hydrogen 'gimmick' is at least five years away.

2.  Macron visit to Russia?

If you go and browse through the pictures....there two unique shots between Putin and Macron.

#1. A shot of Putin and Macron making statements on a stage at the end.  Distance between the two?  I'd guess around 15 feet.  For the camera guys to put both into the image....you barely recognize either guy.  

#2. A shot of Putin and Macron sitting at the table.  This table is about the size of three XL pool tables....end to end.  Just guessing on the weight, but the table has to be in the 6,000 pound range. Putin sat at one end and Macron at the other end.

I doubt if anything was really concluded, and Macron was just happy to be on the plane leaving at the end.

3.  Civey survey done on the new SPD-Green-FDP government.....good marks?

NO.  Only 12-percent of Germans were happy with Scholz's performance as Chancellor so far....with 71-percent giving him a negative grade, and the remainder having no real opinion over the situation.

On energy policy by the Greens and Habeck?  It's mostly negative at 61-percent.

On the Ukraine crisis, Scholz and Baerbock only had 20-percent of the public giving them positive marks.

Bad sign?  We are at month two of this coalition government.  I would say that if the numbers continue through to the end of the year, then I'd start to worry about state elections around the country....maybe going more to the CDU-CSU.  But I would add this....a number of individuals probably have very weak resumes for the jobs they've gotten, and you shouldn't be that shocked.

4.  Wolf seen walking in mid-day through Vogelsberg?

Well....Vogelsberg is in central Hessen and I'd classify the region as mostly small towns, rural in nature, and 'slow'.  It's mid-way from Frankfurt to Kussel.

So what the authorities said....more or less....'you folks in the Vogelsberg region need not fear the wolf walking around'.  My issue....this one particular wolf has developed enough courage to show people he's not that fearful of the 'action' going on presently.  

To a great extent.....you have a pro-wolf and anti-wolf society developing in Germany.  The pro-wolf groups believes it's Ok to have wolves in the wild and possibly walking down your street....maybe even encountering you on hiking trails.  I just don't see this trend lasting long.

5.  This recovered status on Covid....flipping from six months of recognized status to three months?

It's drawing a lot of harsh words within the FDP circles (partner in the government).  There's supposed to be another federal-state meeting in the next week or so on Covid matters, and I expect this to come up for a discussion.

6.  610 Afghans who worked for the German military in Afghanistan....being given immigration status into Germany?

The 610 people, with their families, will get a 'pass' to enter.  Staying in Afghanistan is not an option for them because they worked for the Germans in the past.  Somewhere in the 1,200 range of former workers are already out of Afghanistan, and in Germany presently.  So far, no negative situations have developed. 

7.  The police-shooting (2 dead) from ten days ago in the Pfalz.....this shooter (German in nature) did not have a gun license?

This was finally confirmed last night.  A number of guns were found in his house, and with all the hunting he'd been doing the past couple of years.....this matter never came up.  Whatever he had....was all illegally purchased.  

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