Wednesday, July 6, 2022

Five Things in the German News

 1.  The EU went (voted) and labeled both natural gas and nuke power.....as 'green'.

Yeah, it is a bit shocking and if you posed this scenario a year ago to most German intellectuals....they would tell you never in a million years would this happen.  N-TV covered the details and is worth a review.

The folks mostly weeping over this?  The far-left Green Party folks and environmentalists.  It was a long bitter fight in the 1980s/1990s, and everything done.....is now undone.

2.  N-TV did a update on natural gas pricing for homes.  So....it's pretty crappy.  Last year, a normal family would have paid for heating/hot water....around 1,300 Euro.  The July 2022 pricing?  It's near 3,200 Euro.  

For some providers....the cost is 400-percent more.  Will it peak at this point?  No one is saying that.  

Will people have the cash to cover the increase?  I'd take a estimate here that more than 50-percent don't have the funds, and will have to drastically cut heating/hot water....to survive this.

3.  Covid ramping up?  Well....locally (Wiesbaden) we 'valleyed' out back around 7 June....if you gaze at the numbers....it's tripled since the 7th and our 7-day rate is at 950.  Yeah, the hospitals across Germany are in serious chatter about this....with fragile patients now showing up.

4.  I've mentioned the Frankfurt mayor situation a good bit over the past year.  Well....we've gone to the next two steps.  First, Feldmann has announced that he will resign (after all the pressure)....just not this month, or next month, or the month after that.  He says he'll go in January.  

Second, the regional court said today that corruption charges/court....as of today....can now proceed forward.  No one says the odds on this....but one might guess that the worst scenario is that he's convicted before his resignation date.  How things go then?  Unknown.

Why wait till January?  Unknown....may have some retirement business involved.

So, one other odd thing.....based on the way that Feldmann has treated management at the Frankfurt soccer team.....they've now said he's not welcome at the stadium (any way, shape or form).

I've never seen anything like this in regional politics.  Usually when corruption gets brought up....folks leave real quick.  Feldmann hasn't felt an inch of pain on the corruption chatter.  It is also odd that probably 75-percent of his party.....want him to leave.  

5.  There is some business-retail chatter going on....involving late deliveries for items (from China).  Some report says it's going to continue until mid-2023.  Xmas problems?  Well....they just say that don't go expecting things to improve for your German holiday shopping.  You might want to browse now and hide the gift in the basement.  

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