All posts by Carmen Gomaro

Carmen Gomaro - leading international news and investigative reporter. Worked at various media outlets in Spain, Argentina and Colombia, including Diario de Cádiz, CNN+, Telemadrid and EFE.

The German social democrats maintain their course despite being in the demographic pit

The German Social Democratic Party (SPD) has emerged from the three-day congress in Berlin without internal bruises. Nobody has asked for responsibilities for the budget crisis that Olaf Scholz's government coalition is experiencing or for the 14% in voting intention that the party obtains in the polls, a historic low.. Rather the opposite has happened.. Without the slightest self-criticism, except for the loud reproaches of the Socialist Youth (Jusos), the 600 delegates who attended the congress gave the Executive their approval.. The motto was “unity” and supporting a chancellor in trouble. “We must remain united and have a clear direction,” it was insisted from the stands.

The party presidents, Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil, were confirmed in their positions with very respectable results. They elected the Minister of Labor, Hubertus Heil, and the Minister President of Saarland, Anke Rehlinger, as primi inter pares in the ranks of the deputies with an extraordinary 96.6 and 95.5% of the votes, respectively.. And with an electoral result of 92.5%, they elevated Secretary General Kevin Kühnert from a left-wing hope for the future to a social democratic phenomenon of the present..

The result of the vote for Kühnert, former president of the Jusos, was especially expected. In the last two years, Kühnert has mutated from a left-wing arsonist to a moderating official who was mainly responsible for keeping calm in the SPD and covering the chancellor's back together with the party leadership and the parliamentary group leader of the SPD. SPD, Rolf Mützenich. Many expected a rather mediocre result from Kühnert. However, even Kühnert's biggest admirers were surprised by his approval rating.. His efforts to moderate and find compromises between the different wings and positions of the SPD, especially behind the scenes, were rewarded.

Surprises

Overall, there were some surprises. In the debate on the abolition of the debt brake, the Jusos initially presented a compromise: “In principle, we reject abstract limits on debt in the constitutions of the federal government and the federated states”. Much to the delight of Jusos leader Philipp Türmer, the party conference later voted unanimously in favor of an even stricter version: “We reject the rigid limits on the borrowing of the federal and state governments, as we currently find in the constitutions.” A victory for the left of the party, which was able to score another point. The delegates also decided to give the green light to the federal government to suspend the debt brake again for the 2024 federal budget to ensure the planning certainty of companies and the German economy and not jeopardize investments in neutral restructuring. for the weather.

Scholz reacted in his own way to the various comments on the debt brake from the delegates. He did not mention the matter at all in his speech. Instead, he promised that there would be “no dismantling of the welfare state in Germany” with him as chancellor.. It was a generic promise, but enough to satisfy the longing for a clear social message that many in the SPD wanted to hear from their chancellor.. Scholz was celebrated for his speech and honored by Saskia Esken: “Here you feel at home”. Scholz has remained true to himself and his direction,” said co-president.

The SPS delegates may feel satisfied with these resolutions, which, if applied, would allow the 2024 budgets to be approved as they were before the November ruling of the Constitutional Court. But the reality is different. The Liberals (FDP), partners of the Government coalition and with control of the Ministry of Finance, refuse to loosen the debt brake and do not change their mind due to SPD resolutions that, in short, what they do is narrow the margin Scholz's maneuver in the negotiations.

Immigration

The debate on immigration policy was somewhat more heated, as Scholz announced in an interview that “we must deport once and for all on a large scale those who do not have the right to remain in Germany.”. In his speech, the chancellor refrained from repeating that statement about large-scale deportations when discussing the contentious issue of rejected asylum seekers.. It would have seriously disturbed the newly established balance between chancellor and party.

Here too there was in the end a compromise: humane treatment of refugees, deportations when there is no right to stay and support for civil maritime rescue in the Mediterranean: these are now the positions of the SPD.

The debate on military affairs turned out to be the most politically sensitive. A motion not to spend 2% of GDP on defense, contrary to NATO's internal commitment, could only be rejected by a narrow majority and under the rigid leadership of the presidency..

The SPD leaves the congress more united than it entered, but that does not get it out of the 14% hole. In the elections two years ago it received 25.7% of the support.

MásMóvil, closer to leaving Portugal after an agreement between Vodafone and Digi

MásMóvil is one step closer to definitively shelving its Portuguese adventure. In September 2022, the company agreed with Vodafone to sell Carbonitel, its subsidiary in the country, but the operation has barely registered any progress in more than a year of investigation by the Portuguese Competition Authority.. However, an old acquaintance of both companies in the Spanish market has emerged to unblock the agreement.

Digi and Vodafone have signed an agreement so that the former has access to the latter's network and can complete its landing in the Portuguese market. “The agreement will be part of the proposed remedies sent to the Portuguese Competition Authority,” says Vodafone Portugal, in statements to EL MUNDO.. Now, the Portuguese regulator has to consider that the transfer of these assets will compensate for the possible harm to competition of the agreement to give the 'green light' and unblock the operation.

The arrival of Digi is, precisely, one of the reasons why MásMóvil decided to leave the Portuguese market. Unlike in Spain, in Portugal there are three operators that concentrate the market almost completely: NOS, MEO and Vodafone. However, the Portuguese Government enabled a special 5G auction for the arrival of new players that would encourage competition in the sector and there both the Spanish company and the one of Romanian origin took positions.

Given the arrival of this competitor, MásMóvil considered that the possibility of success was more uncertain and the necessary effort greater, so it preferred to close its Portuguese adventure and focus on Spain where it hopes to complete its merger with Orange, an operation in which Digi also acts as a necessary third party, since it will acquire a significant part or all of the assets that the two merging companies must sell for Brussels to approve the merger.

A CHILLED MARKET

However, the sale of the Portuguese division of MásMóvil may be far from being the most important corporate operation in the Portuguese telecommunications market.. Billionaire Patrick Drahi has put the Portuguese division of his telecommunications company Altice (which operates under the brand MEO) up for sale..

The investor seeks to reduce the debt of his conglomerate and could receive up to 7,000 million euros for this business unit, among whose interested parties would be STC Group, the same Saudi operator that acquired 9.9% of Telefónica and that wants to continue growing in Europe , according to Bloomberg, although the same source points out that Altice would prefer to sell to a private equity fund rather than an industrial group.

Why was the game suspended in Granada and not other times?

Unai Simón received the bitterest ovation of his football career at Nuevo Los Cármenes. The Athletic Club goalkeeper walked halfway through the field in the 17th minute of the match to warn the referee team led by referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias that there was an incident with a fan in the stands of the stadium.

After suspending the match, something with which the referee had already threatened a few minutes before, the emergency services as well as the doctors from both teams moved to the Preference stands to attend to a fan of about 70 years old, a subscriber for 16 years. of the Nasrid team, who had suffered a cardiac arrest.

Almost an hour later, the worst news was confirmed.. “Granada informs that the match against Athletic corresponding to matchday 16 of LaLiga EA SPORTS is suspended indefinitely after the death of a season ticket holder in the Los Cármenes stands,” the Nasrid club reported in a statement.

The players were already in the locker room, after remaining on the field for 20 minutes, waiting for the outcome of this terrible incident.. Once the news was confirmed, representatives of Granada, Athletic Club and LaLiga met with the match referee and it was decided to definitively suspend the match.. This was communicated by the club over the public address system to those attending the clash who offered heartfelt applause to the Granada fan who had not been able to overcome the stoppage suffered in the stands.. It was the second ovation of the afternoon with bitter overtones.

Soon, expressions of condolence for the family of the Granada fan followed one another.. The first, those of Athletic and those of the deceased's club. “From the entity we want to send our most sincere condolences to the family and friends, as well as to the entire Granada family,” they wrote from the Nasrid entity.. “We are deeply afflicted,” concluded the General Director of Granada CF, Alfredo García, in the condolences conveyed by the club on its social channels.

But they also came from Athletic Club, the Royal Spanish Football Federation, LaLiga and many of the clubs that make up the competition.. “It was a shame that the match had to be suspended but there is nothing more important than life,” declared Jon Uriarte, the president of Athletic Club.

The general director of Granada also thanked the “behavior” of the Bilbao team not only for their performance at the time when the spectator suffered that cardiac incident but also afterwards.. Both clubs quickly reached an agreement with LaLiga so that the referee Miguel Ángel Ortiz Arias decreed the definitive suspension of the match.

No protocol

According to LaLiga sources consulted by ELMUNDO, there is no action protocol regarding the suspension of a match after an incident of these characteristics in the stands.. The power to do so rests with the match referee, so he will be the one to make the final decision after consulting the parties, the stadium Security coordinator, the LaLiga match director and analyzing the circumstances of the specific case.. The minutes of yesterday's match stated that the representatives of both teams “by mutual agreement” informed Ortiz Arias that they did not want to continue playing the match, so the referee decided to permanently suspend him.

This is not the first time the game has been stopped due to an incident of this nature.. In the Cádiz-Barcelona match last season, a similar incident temporarily suspended the match so that emergency services could attend to a fan who had suffered another cardiac arrest.. “If a misfortune had happened, we would have suspended the game. We are talking about a human life and that is above football,” said Xavi, at the time. The general director of Granada expressed himself today in the same sense, speaking about how “football takes a backseat” when an incident such as the death of this fan occurs.

The match, by the way, was with a 0-1 advantage for Athlétic Club after a goal by Iñaki Williams in the 6th minute. At the last minute, the new date was defined for the resumption of the little more than 70 minutes remaining in the match.. The competition judge of the Royal Spanish Football Federation decided that the match would resume this Monday the 11th at 9:00 p.m.. Granada, as EL MUNDO learned, initially announced that it would appeal the decision but that “it would abide by what sporting justice imposes”. However, its sports director said in a nightly radio program that in the end they will not even appeal despite the fact that they believe it should not be played.

LeBron James increases his legend and honors the 'Cup', an experiment with many unknowns: "There will be changes"

LeBron James was the best soda for the NBA experiment, the first Cup in its history, a complete success thanks to the King, forever in the germ of this new competition still in the adjustment phase. About to turn 39, honoring his legendary career, he led the Lakers to win the first In-Season Tournament in Las Vegas, one more notch in the most successful franchise in basketball.

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NBA. In-Season Tournament or the new and strange European Cup that begins in the NBA

In-Season Tournament or the new and strange European Cup that begins in the NBA

In the early hours of Saturday to Sunday, on the colorful parquet of the T-Mobile Arena, LeBron culminated the wonderful path of the Angelenos in this new tournament, strange for American players and fans, a European Cup in the middle of the season , but so different. The Lakers defeated the Pacers (123-109), with a display by Anthony Davis (41 points, 20 rebounds, five assists, four blocks…), MVP of the final, accompanying the titanic effort of James (24 points, 11 rebounds…), MVP of the tournament and 28 points from the bench by Austin Reaves. They dried up the powerful attack of the Indiana team, the NBA's top scorer, and its star Tyrese Haliburton. And without needing the perimeter (just two triples, the first already late in the third quarter) they put the finishing touch to an immaculate In-Season Tournament for them: seven wins and no losses.

LeBron wanted to provide context to the event: “We have made history”. He praised his teammate Davis -“Anthony is everything to me, especially since it is the last stage of my career. Being able to have a young man who is hungry and who does the things that he does, is definitely giving me an opportunity to be there and continue growing” -, who he compared to the Shaquille O'Neal of the three-peat and assured that the The effort went to the young people on the team – we must not forget that in the desire to give importance to the tournament, the NBA awards half a million dollars to each player of the champion and 200,000 to the finalists… -, in addition to the fans of the Lakers.

And, incidentally, while he waits for his son Bronny to close his career playing together in the NBA, he continues to increase his record of achievements that places him on the Olympus of world basketball.. Individually LeBron, the top scorer in the history of the league, has been MVP of everything (All Star, regular season, finals…) and collectively boasts four rings with three different teams. The question now is whether these In-Season champion Lakers have the courage to fight for the title. “We're still too far away to have perspective on that, but we like where we are now. We're going to continue with our work habits, continue to be healthy as well. But it's December. I'm not thinking about May or June. They're too far away, There are many steps we still have to take and games to win before the postseason begins,” commented the King.

The NBA's successful trial leaves many questions, however. And Adam Silver himself appeared in Las Vegas to admit that they continue “learning” from the experience and conclude that in the next editions “there will be changes.” “Overall, we are delighted with the interest we have seen so far this season, but I know it is not without challenges. People are probably tired of hearing the word 'tweak'. So we will find another synonym for that,” explained the league commissioner. These adjustments have to do above all with sports, with the “point difference” as a scale for tiebreakers and with the calendar, since those In-Season Tournament games are part of and count for the regular season.

With its invention, the NBA has achieved its first purpose, to increase the lost mid-season competitiveness with a team lifting a title in December, something unthinkable does nothing. But there is still a lot of work ahead. You just have to pay attention to Anthony Davis' response when he was congratulated on the title: “We know it's not the real one.”

A huge Girona gives the big blow in Montjuïc and leaves Barça on the couch

Girona finally achieved its first victory as a visitor against Barça. With forcefulness and ample merit, the assault on Montjuïc by Míchel's team not only once again calls into question the consistency of the Barça team, but also allows them to climb back into a leadership position that, given what we have seen, is not at all a casuality. [Narrative and statistics (2-4)]

The 2-4 scoreline achieved against the Blaugrana with goals from Dovbyk, Miguel, Valery and Stuani, with Lewandowski and Gündogan, in a certain way saving the honor of the locals, was forged in a match in which control and initiative were clearly for the visitors, no matter how much Xavi's team, spurred once again by the urgency, tried unsuccessfully to remedy it throughout a somewhat more inspired second half than the first.

Girona played more and better than Barça in a first half that Míchel's men took advantage of to go to the locker room with a more than deserved 1-2. Theirs, in fact, were the first clear chances of the first 45 minutes in which, in general, the people from Girona conveyed a much neater image than the Blaugrana.

Only set pieces

Tsygankov had the first clear warning, and his, precisely, was the cross that allowed his compatriot Dovbyk to open the scoring when the first 12 minutes had barely been played. Xavi's men, for their part, tried to overcome by lurching, drawing above all on the inspiration of Pedri with complete freedom to move where he wanted.. The equalizer, however, would not come in a game action, but through strategy.

Lewandowski, with a powerful jump, headed Raphinha's corner into the net. The tie greatly encouraged a Barça that had been overwhelmed time and again by the precise play of Girona. To such an extent that Xavi's men persistently hovered around the area of a Gazzaniga capable of frustrating the most promising arrivals.. Once recomposed, however, it was Míchel's team that once again controlled both the ball and the game.

Miguel, in those moments, took advantage of the umpteenth disconnection of the Barça defense, with Koundé appearing again in the photo, to enter without opposition from the front and launch a strong shot with the outside of his left boot to seal the 1-2. Before, Iñaki Peña had managed to send another good shot from the former Madrid player to the corner and he even saw with relief how his shot was lost over the baseline after a very well-worked play by the visitors.

Protect yourself with possession

In the resumption we saw a more willing Barça. He had no choice but to at least get the tie back.. In the opening moments of the second half he approached the Girona goal again and again, but his shots, almost always bitten, hardly represented any difficulties for Gazzaniga.

Girona, always comfortable with the ball at their feet, also knew how to find a way to partially stop the Barça effervescence when the locals seemed to threaten more seriously to reach the tie. Protecting themselves with possession of the ball, the visitors began to exasperate an opponent whose time was slipping through their fingers.

And, with patience, they ended up giving it the finishing touch through Valery who sealed the duel with 1-3 and confirmed a more than deserved return to the leadership. Gundogan's 2-3 was just an anecdote, because Stuani, a survivor from the Second Division times, was ready at the far post to close the blind. Unlike Lewandowski, who was erratic on a fantastic occasion to make it 3-3, the Uruguayan did not miss his appointment with history. After two weeks of truce, with those balms against Porto and Atlético, Barça returns to the couch.

Open rotation in the Madrid goal, Lunin or Kepa?: "In the next game we will see"

Andriy Lunin has forced Carlo Ancelotti to change his mind and the Italian, always tolerant in reflection, has had no problems in facing an unusual situation. Right now, there is no starting goalkeeper at Real Madrid. A month ago, Kepa's injury during the warm-up against Braga opened the doors of the Ukrainian goal again. The Spaniard was indisputable and there was no debate about the white team's goal.. But now it's different.

Against Betis, Lunin once again put together a remarkable performance. He saved the 1-0 with a shot from Ayoze and was confident between the posts, both in high balls and in playing with his feet, something that the coaching staff values positively.. He conceded Ruibal's great goal, but the full-back's shot, unopposed, slipped into his right corner.. It was almost unstoppable. After the meeting, Ancelotti did not want to put an end to the debate that he himself has been opening and closing in recent weeks: «Lunin has done well, he showed confidence and security.. We will see the next game,” he said, without indicating which goalkeeper will be in the starting eleven this Tuesday in Berlin.

The Ukrainian has conceded 5 goals in 8 games and averages 88.2% saves in the League, the best figure in the competition. He makes 3.3 stops per game, one more than Kepa, who averages 77.4% and received 10 in the 13 he played consecutively before getting injured. In the week that he returned to training with the team, just before the game against Granada, Ancelotti was very forceful with the goal situation: “If Kepa is fine, he will play”. However, the Spaniard was on the bench against the Andalusians.

«Character and personality»

Lunin saved a penalty against Braga and has kept a clean sheet in three of Madrid's last six games. In the press conference he gave this Friday, Ancelotti was no longer so direct about his intentions in goal and opened Lunin's options. “I will decide between one of the two,” he said in Valdebebas. And in Seville he decided that the Ukrainian would play. «Lunin's matches have been good and he deserves that I take into account that he can also play. He has shown character and personality. With Kepa nothing has changed, I have total confidence in him,” he said on Friday. At Villamarín, after 1-1, he repeated the same argument again. “We will see the next game,” he said after praising Lunin.

In August, after Courtois' injury and the signing of Kepa, the idea of the coaching staff was to give the Spaniard the starting job without hesitation, but now the rotation is more than open. A situation that has been seen a few times in recent years in Chamartín. Courtois and Navas exchanged positions during a stretch of the season in 2018. Now, at least until the Spanish Super Cup that will be played in the second week of January in Arabia, Kepa and Lunin will rotate between the sticks.

The draw leaves Madrid pending Girona, which if it wins in Montjuic will be the sole leader. «I leave here satisfied, it is a good point for the table. Do you want me to say that I am sad or angry? It is not like this. “I'm happy,” Ancelotti insisted.. A reflection that Alaba shared: “I think this is a very difficult field, it is an important point against a good team like Betis”. Madrid has already visited Athletic, Atlético, Girona, Sevilla, Barcelona and Betis with 3 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. The next stop, after passing through the Champions League, will be against Villarreal at the Bernabéu before traveling to Vitoria to end the year 2023.

Javier Milei announces a very severe adjustment in his inauguration as president of Argentina: "There is no money"

“There is no money, there is no money!”: a crowd of Argentines sang Javier Milei's mantra this Sunday when greeting his arrival to the presidency. That thousands of people celebrated the absence of money while announcing a very severe adjustment, never seen before, and warning of the danger of hyperinflation speaks of the fundamental political shift that is taking place in the third largest economy in Latin America.

“Today a new era begins in Argentina, today we end a long era of decadence and decline, and we begin the reconstruction of the country,” said the new president in an unprecedented speech from the steps of Congress, in which he The economic legacy of Kirchnerism was harshly criticized after two decades of political dominance in the country.

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Argentina Elections. Javier Milei, the ultraliberal candidate who captivated Argentine youth

Javier Milei, the ultraliberal candidate who captivated Argentine youth

“There is a will for change that has no return. There is no turning back, today we bury decades of failure, internal fights and meaningless discussions,” Milei added, while promising “growth, development, freedom and progress.”

The new president recalled that Argentina was the “beacon of the West” and the land to which immigrants from all over the world arrived before “embracing the impoverishing theories of collectivism.”

“Let me be clear on this: no government has received a worse inheritance than what we are receiving (…). There is no viable solution that avoids attacking the fiscal deficit. The solution involves a fiscal adjustment of five points of GDP in the national public sector, which will fall almost entirely on the State, and not on the private sector!” Milei shouted before a euphoric and hopeful crowd.

True to his disruptive ways, Milei, 53, has limited himself to swearing in before the Legislative Assembly and has not given the usual speech before the deputies and senators. After asking the legislators to remain in their places, Milei and the new vice president, Victoria Villarruel, headed to the steps of the Congress Palace. His speech was followed in the front row, to Milei's right, by King Felipe VI, one of the heads of state present in Buenos Aires.

Along with his sister and his vice president. LUIS ROBAYO AFP

The ultraliberal, who does not belong to either Peronism or pan-radicalism, the two political families that have historically governed the country, arrived at the Congress building aboard a car that traveled completely along the emblematic Avenida de Mayo on a splendid late morning. spring in the southern hemisphere.

The inauguration ceremony has shown an unusual role of the former vice president Cristina Kirchner, dressed in intense red. After showing the middle finger to a Milei supporter upon entering Congress, he gave orders left and right as he greeted him upon his arrival at the Legislative Palace and then, with his hands in his pockets, he moved incessantly on the stage while the new president was sworn into office.

Milei smiles next to the former vice president Cristina Fernández de Kichner. ALEJANDRO PAGNI AFP

The two-time president has held brief conversations with the new tenant of the Casa Rosada and did not spare a glance at the outgoing president, Alberto Fernández, when he approached to greet her.

It was later learned that something that caught Kirchner's attention was the silver handle of the presidential cane: there, in relief, are the figures of Conan, Milei's English mastiff who died in 2017, and the four cloned dogs that he gave him. they replaced. When signing the minute book, Milei added a dedication: “Long live freedom, damn it.”

Former president Mauricio Macri, who between 2015 and 2019 marked an interregnum to 20 years of Kirchnerist hegemony, attended the ceremony with visible joy that was reflected on social networks: “Congratulations President Milei, I wouldn't take a single comma out of your speech. Long live freedom, damn it!”

Milei's arrival to power implies more than a change of era, it is a change of paradigm. If for decades the majority of Argentines lived convinced that what was essential began and ended in the State (“the present State”, one of the successful workhorses of Kirchnerism), Milei's devastating victory in the November 19 elections has revealed another Argentina. The word “freedom” has become fashionable, shouted by many young people who 10 or 20 years ago would have experienced Cristina.

Milei had a brief conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, for the first time in Latin America since the war with Russia began, before addressing the crowd. Later, at the Casa Rosada, both leaders would give each other a long and heartfelt hug and then hold a bilateral meeting.. The Ukrainian, who went to Buenos Aires to seek support from Latin America, now has an unconditional ally in Argentina.

The Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, the former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who arrived on foot at Congress, and the Heads of State of Armenia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and Ecuador also attended.. The absence of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in what was the shortest and most disconcerting formal inauguration ceremony in the 40 years of the current democratic stage has stood out.

Faithful to his passion for the economy, Milei has spoken of “consolidated liabilities” and “monetary policy” in an excessively technical speech, and has added that the uncontrolled monetary issue during the Fernández government “is not free” and could have led the country to be “the Venezuela of Chávez and Maduro”. “The outgoing government has left us with hyperinflation, and it is our duty to make every effort to avoid such a catastrophe, which would take poverty above 90%.”

The closing of the massive demonstration in front of Congress showed attendees collecting all the garbage generated, a novel image, which local media defined as almost “Japanese.”

After proposing “a new social contract” in which the State does not “direct the lives of Argentines”, but rather ensures “their rights”, Milei addressed “the Argentine political class”, which he labeled as “caste “during his campaign.

“We do not ask for blind support, but we will not tolerate hypocrisy, dishonesty or the ambition for power to interfere with the change that we Argentines choose.”

“We know it will be hard,” added the new president of Argentina, who this Monday will reactivate the process of joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in which Macri had made progress and that Fernández put on the freezer.

“We neither seek nor desire the hard decisions that will have to be made in the coming weeks, but unfortunately they have left us no choice,” insisted Milei, who said he had one more ally, in addition to his voters: he cited a phrase from the Book of Maccabees. , “victory in battle does not depend on the number of soldiers, but on the forces that come from heaven.”

The German social democrats maintain their course despite being in the demographic pit

The German Social Democratic Party (SPD) has emerged from the three-day congress in Berlin without internal bruises. No one has asked for responsibility for the budget crisis experienced by Olaf Scholz's government coalition or for the 14% of voting intentions that the party obtains in the polls, a historic low.. Rather the opposite has happened.. Without the slightest self-criticism, except for the loud reproaches of the Socialist Youth (Jusos), the 600 delegates who attended the congress gave the Executive their approval.. The motto was “unity” and supporting a chancellor in trouble. “We must remain united and have a clear direction,” it was insisted from the stands.

The party presidents, Saskia Esken and Lars Klingbeil, were confirmed in their positions with very respectable results. They elected the Minister of Labor, Hubertus Heil, and the Minister President of Saarland, Anke Rehlinger, as primi inter pares in the ranks of the deputies with an extraordinary 96.6 and 95.5% of the votes, respectively.. And with an electoral result of 92.5%, they elevated Secretary General Kevin Kühnert from a left-wing hope for the future to a social democratic phenomenon of the present..

The result of the vote for Kühnert, former president of the Jusos, was especially expected. In the last two years, Kühnert has mutated from a left-wing arsonist to a moderating official who was mainly responsible for keeping calm in the SPD and covering the chancellor's back together with the party leadership and the parliamentary group leader of the SPD. SPD, Rolf Mützenich. Many expected a rather mediocre result from Kühnert. However, even Kühnert's biggest admirers were surprised by his approval rating.. His efforts to moderate and find compromises between the different wings and positions of the SPD, especially behind the scenes, were rewarded.

Surprises

Overall, there were some surprises. In the debate on the abolition of the debt brake, the Jusos initially presented a compromise: “In principle, we reject abstract limits on debt in the constitutions of the federal government and the federated states”. The delegates also decided to give the green light to the federal government to suspend the debt brake again for the 2024 federal budget to ensure the planning certainty of companies and the German economy and not jeopardize investments in neutral restructuring. for the weather.

Scholz reacted in his own way to the various comments on the debt brake from the delegates. He did not mention the matter at all in his speech. Instead, he promised that there would be “no dismantling of the welfare state in Germany” with him as chancellor.. It was a generic promise, but enough to satisfy the longing for a clear social message that many in the SPD wanted to hear from their chancellor.. Scholz was celebrated for his speech and honored by Saskia Esken: “Here you feel at home”. Scholz has remained true to himself and his direction,” said co-president.

The SPS delegates may feel satisfied with these resolutions, which, if applied, would allow the 2024 budgets to be approved as they were before the November ruling of the Constitutional Court. But the reality is different. The Liberals (FDP), partners of the Government coalition and with control of the Ministry of Finance, refuse to loosen the debt brake and do not change their mind due to SPD resolutions that, in short, what they do is narrow the margin Scholz's maneuver in the negotiations.

Immigration

The debate on immigration policy was somewhat more heated, as Scholz announced in an interview that “we must deport once and for all on a large scale those who do not have the right to remain in Germany.”. In his speech, the chancellor refrained from repeating that statement about large-scale deportations when discussing the contentious issue of rejected asylum seekers.. It would have seriously disturbed the newly established balance between chancellor and party.

Here too there was in the end a compromise: humane treatment of refugees, deportations when there is no right to stay and support for civil maritime rescue in the Mediterranean: these are now the positions of the SPD.

The debate on military affairs turned out to be the most politically sensitive. A motion not to spend 2% of GDP on defense, contrary to NATO's internal commitment, could only be rejected by a narrow majority and under the rigid leadership of the presidency..

The SPD leaves the congress more united than it entered, but that does not get it out of the 14% hole. In the elections two years ago it received 25.7% of the support.

Netanyahu assures that "it is the beginning of the end of Hamas" in Gaza

Intense fighting and bombing in three key areas of the Gaza Strip, arrests and surrenders, and warnings from both the UN and relatives of kidnapped people have marked day 65 of the war between Israel and Hamas.

“Every day that passes, more terrorists die and in recent days we see terrorists surrendering, which is a sign of the disintegration of the system (Hamas) and that we must put more pressure,” says the Israeli Army Chief of Staff. , Herzi Halevi, in the biggest confrontation with the fundamentalist group that controls the Gaza Strip since 2007.

Halevi refers to the fighting in Jabalia and Shujaiya (north) and Jan Yunis (south) as well as the massive arrests. The images of Palestinians in underwear with their hands tied, including some new ones with rifles handed over, were not released by the Army. Although they receive a lot of criticism from abroad, some Israelis believe they have psychological value on the ground against Hamas and Islamic Jihad at a decisive moment in the war.. However, National Security Advisor Tsaji Hanegbi criticizes it and states that there will be no more photographs of this type.

A suspected Hamas member raises his hands after surrendering to soldiers in Jabaliya. EM

Israel alleges that the manner of arrest of half-naked suspects was due to fear that they were carrying hidden explosives or weapons. “In recent days, dozens of Hamas terrorists have surrendered and handed over their weapons to our forces,” declared Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, sending a message to Hamas troops: “I tell you, it's over. Don't die for Sinwar (Hamas leader). Give up now”. According to Netanyahu, “it will take more time, but it is the beginning of the end of Hamas.”

The Islamist group, for its part, denies that the detainees belong to its group and maintains that “it is pure propaganda.”. “Showing photographs of defenseless citizens after their arrest and placing weapons next to them aims to create a false victory over the resistance,” he adds, ensuring that his operatives do not surrender.. The armed wing of Hamas confirmed that “fierce fighting is underway” in Jabalia.

According to Israeli Channel 12, “40% of the detained suspects who surrendered in recent days are terrorists and the rest are and will be released”. A conclusion from the interrogations indicates that “the Hamas leadership in the tunnels does not want to admit reality and there is a disconnection between the leadership of the armed wing and its members.”.

The veto in the Security Council

Sinwar may not understand the exact level of devastation suffered by Gazans on the surface but he does know that his big goal today is a ceasefire whether thanks to the UN, US President Joe Biden or an agreement on the hostages. In this way, it would stop the unprecedented bombings and ground advances of Israel which, unlike in the past, seeks to destroy Hamas as an armed and control group in Gaza..

An objective that, for the moment, the United States fully supports, although with limitations (minimizing the number of civilian deaths as much as possible and increasing humanitarian aid).. After exercising the veto in the UN Security Council to overturn the resolution in favor of an immediate ceasefire, the Biden government circumvented Congress to approve the emergency sale to Israel of almost 14,000 tank shells for more than 106 million of dollars.

According to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Health Ministry, 18,000 Palestinians have died in the offensive launched after the jihadist group's attack.. Israel points out that “more than 7,000 terrorists” have died in the war, which since its beginning has an Israeli death toll of 1,300.

“They attack everything that moves. The resistance also fights back,” Hamza Abu Fatouh of Shujaiya told AP. Residents of southern Khan Yunis report seeing Israeli tanks on Jamal Abdel-Nasser Street in the city center. Given the Israeli call to its inhabitants to move to Rafah, international agencies warn that the area will not be able to accommodate more people.

WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesu warns that overcrowding creates “ideal conditions” for the spread of disease. “The health system is on its knees and collapsed. “Its capacity has been reduced by a third,” he added in an emergency meeting in which he detailed that only 14 of Gaza's 36 hospitals are partially functioning.

The families ask that the hostages be a priority

The 'Forum of families of the kidnapped and missing' in Israel demands the cabinet to prioritize their release over the goal of ending Hamas and return to an agreement of several days of truce to allow the return of the 137 people in the hands of the militias of the more than 240 kidnapped on 7-O.

At 18, Liri Albag is the youngest in Hamas captivity. “For 64 days we don't know where and how she is, if she is injured, what she feels.. How can I go to sleep if she is still in the darkness of the tunnels?” asks her father Eli in Tel Aviv and warns that the lives of all the kidnapped people, some elderly or sick, are in constant danger.. “The stories told by the freed hostages demonstrated the atrocities they suffer, the hunger, the humiliation, the physical violence and, yes, also sexual violence that a father cannot even imagine what is happening to his daughter.”

The Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Qatar, Mohamed bin Abderrahman Al Thani, has confirmed that talks to achieve a truce in the format reached three weeks ago were not paralyzed..

“We continue our efforts and hope to return to the agreement we reached for a pause and to release hostages who are still alive (…). It is necessary that both parties be willing to do this. Unfortunately we are not seeing the same will that we had seen in the previous weeks,” he stated this Sunday at the Doha Forum in which he warned that “the continuation of the (Israeli) bombings narrows this window for us.”