News podcast: The man after Kühnert

Published on October 8, 2024

Just a few hours after the resignation of Secretary General Kevin Kühnert, the SPD has appointed Matthias Miersch as his successor. The 55-year-old lawyer from Hanover has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2005. Until now, he was deputy parliamentary group leader of the federal parliamentary group and since 2015 spokesman for the parliamentary left (PL) in the SPD parliamentary group. His political priorities are in the areas of environment, energy, agriculture and climate. Most recently, the Social Democrat was instrumental in the revision of the heating law. Kevin Kühnert resigned yesterday due to health problems. Michael Schlieben is an editor in the politics department and explains what the new SPD Secretary General must bring with him and what strategy could be behind the change of course for the federal election campaign.

After yesterday's anniversary of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, the war in the Middle East continues. Satellite images of the Gaza Strip show that two thirds of all buildings have been damaged or destroyed to date. Israel is also expanding its ground offensive in Lebanon to push Hezbollah back from the border.

In the fight against the spread of depictions of sexualized child abuse, investigators have shut down a database of image and video material on the darknet after a major operation. The platform, which has served as a forum for pedophiles since 2019, had hundreds of thousands of users. North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) spoke of a "dizzyingly large" case at a press conference in Duisburg. In September, there were searches in several federal states in which extensive image material was seized. Seven suspects have now been arrested and are accused of distributing child pornography. The police are currently calling on other users of the darknet platform to turn themselves in and seek help before investigators track them down.

According to an as yet unpublished report by the EU Commission dated October 3, 2024, the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA) recorded 24 percent fewer asylum applications between January and September than in the same period last year. Back in September of this year, the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees published the asylum figures for the month of August. The figures showed that asylum applications are declining compared to the previous year. Most asylum applications were submitted by Syrians, followed by people from Afghanistan, Turkey and Iraq. The numbers are also falling in many European countries. Mark Schieritz, deputy head of the politics department at ZEIT, explains how the figures could change in the coming years and what role the war in the Middle East could play in future asylum applications.

What else? Set the alarm: snooze button instead of a Nobel Prize!

Moderation and production: Jannis Carmesin

Editor: Constanze Kainz

Collaboration: Susanne Hehr, Celine Yasemin Rolle

Questions, criticism, suggestions? You can reach us at [email protected]. Tickets for the finale of the podcast tour are available here.

Source: Die Zeit