DER SPIEGEL

has conducted a survey of leading entrepreneurs and economic experts, asking what, if anything, the German government should do to help the failing German economy. Although not agreed on specific measures, they are unanimous in one point: the German government must act soon.

"I'm Warning the West"

SPIEGEL interview with Serb prime minister Zoran Djindjic on Brussels' grotesque blockading tactics in paying out international reconstruction aid:

"If we don't receive an immediate injection of capital, we'll be facing demonstrations and social unrest by September at the latest. Because we have been unable to fulfil our promises. 330,000 families live on an income of less than 40 marks a month, our budget is being weighed down by 600,000 refugees, and 100,000 people will lose their jobs because of the transformations to the economy demanded by Western creditors. No investments are being made, no work is being done, nothing is being built. … If my government topples, that will cost the international community ten billion dollars. … When I was in the opposition, the European Union promised us three billion marks in cash if we brought down Milosevic. Where is that money?"

"The End of the Close Season"

Croatia: The extradition of two generals to the war crimes tribunal demanded by The Hague is posing a threat to the reformers in Zagreb. Either they risk forfeiting the esteem of the West, which they have worked so hard to gain, or else they must betray a myth - the myth of the just, defensive war that followed the disintegration of Yugoslavia. Massive resistance is developing, particularly in the south, not far from the beaches of the Adriatic.

The UN conference on the climate in Bonn this week is a last attempt to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

"Making Money with Clean Air"

SPIEGEL interview with European Union Environment Commissioner Margot Wallström, on the environmental boycott in the United States and the Bonn climate summit:

"The important fast-developing countries [India and China] do not want to commit themselves to any obligations that might slow down their economic development in the initial phase. This is why the industrial nations have to take the lead in climate protection. However China has in fact reduced its emissions considerably over the past five years. … The EU has looked into over 40 measures which can be used to reduce pollutant emissions. The conclusion we came to was that we can achieve the targets of climate protection without incurring major macro-economic costs … We will suggest giving stronger backing to the trade in so-called emission rights. This will allow a "clean" company to sell a quota of air pollution to a less clean company. It is precisely these market economic incentives that are also very important to America, because they can be used to make money."

"War of the Services"

Reconnaissance: The German armed forces want to use their own scouts to spy on the other side when involved in overseas operations. The intelligence agency BND is fighting this move, and the chancellery does not want another secret service either. Before overseas operations even commence, military-run specialists are meant to sound out the scene of deployment on behalf of the troops. But the BND is claiming this job for itself. The army that has been stationed in the Balkans since 1995 has no sympathy for this quarrel over responsibilities. The soldiers don't care who gets hold of the information necessary to protect them in precarious situations, or who is in charge of averting criminal and terrorist attacks. The utter chaos which the military and the services are tied up in is not likely to end very soon.

"Neo-Liberalism Is Like Aids"

SPIEGEL interview with sociologist Pierre Bourdieu on the chances of the anti-globalisation movement:

"More and more people are realising that freedom and laissez faire are not the same thing. Neo-Liberalism is a weapon of conquest, it teaches a form of economic fatalism against which it appears futile to resist. … The wide range of the grass roots initiatives that are critical of globalisation demonstrates that things have begun to smoulder. The willingness for subversion is there, but how can it be organised? … The idea of a strong European federal state is there, a concrete Utopia. It can be achieved."

"From Sky to Socket"

Energy: The solar industry is on a high. The solar panels installed on German roofs this year alone will replace the equivalent of 40,000 oil-fired furnaces. A general pattern for the division of labour in the "new energy economy" is also beginning to emerge: while wind power is used to generate electricity for the power grid, the sun can in particular provide space heating and hot water for private homes and office buildings. Two ingredients have acted as the propelling charge and triggered the solar boom: on the one hand, scientists and engineers have been able to improve the efficiency of photovoltaic devices and reduce the cost of manufacturing them. And at the same time, the governing red-green coalition's law on renewable energy, which came into force in April 2000, stipulates that every kilowatt hour of solar power must be reimbursed.

"A Bloodbath among Friends"

Painters: Did the genius painter Vincent van Gogh really cut off his ear himself? A bizarre debate about the role of his pal Paul Gauguin is in the offing in the art scene. Van Gogh shared an apartment in the town of Arles, in Southern France, with his artist friend Paul Gauguin for eight and a half weeks. Then apparently one night he cracked up and chopped off his left ear, allegedly using an open razor. Not at all, says a Hamburg art historian, and puts forward the theory that "it was Gauguin who cut off van Gogh's ear."

"The Prospect of a Cure"

SPIEGEL interview with biologist Rudolf Jaenisch, in the battle of beliefs over embryos:

"The argument is being pursued very emotionally in Germany and in the United States. … There are weighty reasons for permitting this type of research - namely the prospect of finding a cure."

"Anyone Can Do a Rembrandt"

Restoration: Restorers toy around for months to find the right methods for protecting contemporary works of art - consisting of grease and felt, manure and chocolate - from decay. Their clients are collectors and museums that want to preserve expensive works of art, whatever the cost may be - even against the resistance of the artists. Level-headed restorers admit that preserving art at all costs is not always in the interest of the underlying artistic idea. But few art lovers are put off by this; and since restorers are a long way down in the museum hierarchies, they are rarely listened to.

"Effective Lashing"

Swimming: Ian Thorpe is hoping to defend three titles at the world championships. German scientists believe they have unravelled the secret of the Australian's success. Thorpe, who intends to defend three titles at the world swimming championships beginning this week in Fukuoka, Japan, has apparently developed a leg action that is remarkably similar to the way in which fish move their fins. While many competitors still beat their legs stiffly up and down, the movement of the triple Olympic gold medalist resembles the lashing of a whip.

"Harpoon at the Ready"

Wildlife conservation: At the International Whaling Commission, the majority in favour of a ban on hunting is dwindling. Will whaling quotas be introduced before long? At the same time, many whale species are still considered to be acutely threatened. Only last week, the World Wide Fund for Nature presented a study, according to which seven of the 13 species of whales which have not been hunted since 1986, must still be classified as being endangered. The conservationists are hoping for a solution to the crisis in the form of a plan which not long ago would have been considered to violate a taboo. A sound programme of limited whaling could well be more successful than a poorly controlled moratorium.