The state of Bremen has therefore started a pilot project: teachers at primary, secondary or high schools use a mobile app to record how much they work - and how they spend their time: in the classroom? When correcting papers? For preparation? “Teachers are by no means lazy,” writes my colleague Florian Gontek, who is following the project in Bremen. "But I found it surprising that previous studies show that the actual teaching only accounts for a third of the working time." Florian suspects that this has probably shifted even further: "Just a WhatsApp message with the parents, lots of new decrees and data protection regulations, the job is becoming more and more demanding." Absolutely. Finally, so does the material. A final excerpt from my high school newspaper:
What do you say? I should have opted for electric cars eight years ago? Much better for the climate and I couldn't care less about petrol prices or the crankshaft now? Yes, thank you, you are of course right. But why should I of all people be smarter than the mobility experts at Volkswagen AG, the country's largest car company? First the emissions scandals, then the failed electric revolution. And now the crankshaft is breaking in the store: another 60,000 jobs will be cut by 2030 (in addition to the 50,000 that have already been agreed), and the plants in Zwickau, Emden, Hanover and Neckarsulm are still threatened with ceasing production. “The board of directors got practically everything they wanted,” says my colleague Alexander Demling, analyzing the bitter power struggle between the board of directors and the supervisory board. And his diagnosis is devastating: "Volkswagen is currently not a well-managed company, constant changes in strategy and personnel cost billions and are squandering the lead that the German car power once had in the world." Yes. At that time. When I bought Sharani. And VW celebrated a global delivery record.
Then came the 16-ton truck.
Read here who the real winners of the power struggle at VW are
I know, it's hard to imagine at the moment, but it did happen: the Merz moment. A charming idea. Pragmatic. And cleverly staged too. You can't imagine or remember it? That's probably because it's been 24 years now. Back then, the future Chancellor scribbled seven numbers on a beer mat. To demonstrate how easy a tax return should be. His suggestion at a glance: four types of income instead of seven. Remove commuter allowance. And only three tax rates: 12, 24 and 36 percent. Radical. And about as realistic as a unicorn in the Chancellery. But hey, Merz was young (at least for a CDU politician), and the beer mat number became his greatest hit. The original is now in the House of History. So the lid, not Merz.
He is now actually chancellor, but is hidden in his own party's election campaign in Saxony-Anhalt, top candidate Sven Schulze wants it that way. And what about the charming ideas? And the clever staging? In the SPIEGEL interview, Merz quotes the ancient philosopher Epictetus: “It is not the actions that move people, but the words about the actions. I can actually get better at this.” Well.
What do you think? Has Merz gotten a little better? Or bladed axe? Or all together? And what about the AfD? My colleagues Philipp Kollenbroich and Rina Wilkin have developed a question tool with which you can vote - and compare yourself with the majority: Which party is best suited to solving the current challenges? And would the AfD disenchant itself in government responsibility?
By the way, Friedrich Merz is - relax, Sven Schulze - at the opening game of the Women's Basketball World Cup this evening. In Berlin. Not Saxony-Anhalt.
What do you think about the Merz coalition and what about the AfD? Click here for the question tool.
Bullies on the bus: Germany's voucher guru Jochen Schweizer, 69, and cuddly rapper Bushido, 47, ("Forever Young") clashed at a bus stop in the Munich suburb of Grünwald. It is controversial who exactly started it, including whether there was pushing or what exactly was said. Apparently there had previously been a dispute between the two's underage daughters. However, the simple thing didn't work out so well: "I don't think you know who I am," one of them is said to have said. The other responded: “I don’t give a shit who you are.” Maybe the two of them should redeem a Jochen Schweizer voucher together? A romantic balloon ride over Lake Tegernsee is available for just 519.80 euros. But don't push!
