SPIEGEL cover story: Chancellor Gerhard Schröder faces an uphill battle for re-election. His Social Democrat Party is in a shambles, and he is left with only one trump in his hand – himself. He will have to run on the strength of his personality, not on the achievements of his coalition government.

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with Edmund Stoiber, candidate of the CDU/CSU for the post of chancellor. Gerhard Schröder’s adversary talks about the party programme of the CDU/CSU, immigration to Germany, Leo Kirch, and the forthcoming election campaign – who is on his team and how he plans to win.

“Friendship without Weapons”

Foreign policy: In view of the brutal actions of the Israeli army, the German government has stopped its arms exports. In the middle of this new war in the Middle East, the oldest pillar of German-Israeli cooperation is being rocked: the often clandestine military assistance for Israel’s army. Israeli newspapers are outraged about the German “embargo”. The press reports triggered a storm of protest among the Jewish community. While e-mails, faxes and letters have been piling up at the German embassy in Tel Aviv, the Foreign Office in Berlin has had to face critical questions from the newspapers of Jewish organisations in the USA.

“State and Revolution”

Bush visit: Berlin is busy guessing. How will the PDS, the successor of the ruling communist party in former East Germany, behave towards the American president on 22 May? Will its most prominent member, Gregor Gysi, who is also the Minister of Economic Affairs in the local government, demonstrate against him, or will he actually have to receive him? A colourful mix of organisers has called for the demonstration against Bush, from the Marxist Leninist Party of Germany and the PDS, through to the anti-globalisation activists of “Attac”. The police are expecting several tens of thousands of anti-war protesters, and prominent politicians from the governing PDS also plan to attend. If local government officials were to be spotted among the Bush opponents between Neue Wache and the town hall, this would play entirely into the hands of the opposition candidate for the post of chancellor, Edmund Stoiber (CSU).

“Suppressing Evil”

Church: The Roman Catholic Church in Germany continues to hold that sexual abuse by priests is a peripheral problem. However, the latest cases display many similarities with the paedophilia scandal in the United States. Last Monday, the German council of bishops was unwilling to devote much more than one hour to the former taboo. At a meeting in Himmelspforten Abbey outside Würzburg, they were obliged to admit that they neither had an overall picture of the extent of sexual misconduct among German clerics, nor were procedural rules for all 27 dioceses in place as to how to deal with such misconduct. As though they had all the time in the world, they confirmed the continuation of the work by an already existing committee. The one question of faith that the bishops all agreed on: celibacy, they were quick to affirm, was not the cause of the incidents of abuse.

Terrorism in Germany: One aspect which is particularly alarming is the anxiety among experts that the group of Islamists surrounding the alleged ringleader Abu Ali is merely the beginning of the threats still to come. A similarly alarming fact is that the countermeasures adopted after September 11 might not have been able to hurt Abu Ali’s miniature network. Abu Ali’s terrorist circle is obviously embedded in a world-wide network. There are leads pointing to England, Denmark, and Italy, and there is at least a loose connection between the busted Al-Tawhi cell and the suspects being investigated in connection with the gas explosion on Jerba in which 11 German tourists were killed.

“Fighting with Our Backs to the Wall”

SPIEGEL interview with Israeli defence minister Benjamin Ben-Eliezer about the invasion of the autonomous regions, the demands of his government towards Palestinian president Yasir Arafat, and Jerusalem’s tense relationship with Europe:

“Nobody can accept that we have to bury new victims every day. We were forced into this war. … I will talk with anyone who really wants peace, without any tricks, without games. My only condition is: the violence has to stop. … Arafat is giving refuge to people who are responsible for the murder of our tourist minister Rechavam Zeewi. Arafat only needs to hand these people over to us, then this business would be over. … Apart from a few exceptions, Europe has a negative attitude towards our country. Its behaviour is not balanced. I would like to see some painful questions being put to the other side.”

“Enough of the Special Provisions”

SPIEGEL interview with Gerhard Cromme, chairman of the supervisory board at ThyssenKrupp, on the refusal of German managers to disclose their salaries:

“I expect the pressure of the international financial markets and the general public will become so high that in the long run scarcely any group will be able to afford to ignore this simple demand for more transparency concerning the payment of the top managers. … In future, too, every supervisory board will be responsible for the board’s salaries. We can only strive to get these decisions made public. If excesses occur, these will then be discussed publicly. I consider that an extremely effective procedure.”

“Brutal Selection”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with the head of HypoVereinsbank, Albrecht Schmidt, about the failure of the banks in the Kirch case, the general structural crisis in his area of business, and the fear of being swallowed by a foreign rival:

“It is absolutely true of my own company, and my personal impression is that the other banks didn’t make any mistakes either. And whether or not Kirch is indeed overextended is something that has yet to be proven. … Kirch purchased a whole number of new assets which justify this level of debt. … This area of business is undergoing a typical phase of profound change – just like the car industry in the 1990s. … A few banks have already dropped out. De facto, Berliner Bankgesellschaft is out of the running. Schmidt-Bank has de facto dropped out; it will be reduced drastically in size. Dresdner Bank has been swallowed by Allianz. … I have to get my share prices up, no doubt about it. But that’s still damned difficult to do.” Schmidt confirms that HypoVereinsbank will still be independent three years from now.

“Sand-table Exercises for Kings”

History: A Munich art historian has unravelled the origin of chess. Apparently, the board game developed about 450 AD out of Indian military exercises. Using historical sources, Renate Syed has traced the path of the game from India to Persia in minute detail, firmly establishing its origins. Chess is first mentioned in India in about 630 AD in a royal chronicle from the town of Kannauj. On the other hand, comprehensive earlier sources, such as the Kama Sutra dating back to before 400 AD do not mention the game. “The Indians did not view chess as a game,” says Syed. “It was developed from military training methods, whose purpose was to practise strategies and tactics.”

“Last Exit Mars”

Space travel: Impatient enthusiasts are practising for the colonisation of the Red Planet in the desert of Utah. They include genuine scientists as well. The key question for all of them: When can we head off at last? They are all members of the Mars Society, made up of over 5000 enthusiasts from 39 countries, who are fed up with waiting for the vacillators at NASA. The sooner they can set out for the rust-coloured planet the better, and they believe the ticket to Mars will be a lot cheaper than NASA expects. In their view, no less is at stake than the mental and cultural renewal of humanity – not to mention its long-term survival.

“Chips in the Barrel”

Foods: A cultural war is raging between traditional European viniculturists and “winemakers” from abroad. The central issue is: how much modification is permissible? More than ten new “oenological” methods are pressing onto the market. The term refers to physical methods for modifying and improving wines. As yet, none of these procedures have been authorised in Europe. The international wine authority (OIV) in Paris keeps strict watch over every form of wine production. The organisation comprises 46 countries, however the United States withdrew from it in June 2001, feeling it was being gagged. Nevertheless, the pressure on Europeans is mounting.

“Summit Meeting in the Mist”

Cultural history: Theodor W. Adorno’s now published correspondence with Thomas Mann constitutes a dialogue between two non-kindred spirits: the two men had little to say to each other. In the field of music and its aesthetics, these unrelated spirits – both coming from the educated classes, but separated not only by an age difference of 28 years but even more so in terms of their interests and convictions – were able to meet one another respectfully and obligingly; apart from that, their correspondence remained, until Thomas Mann’s death in 1955, essentially an exchange of polite niceties and strained misunderstandings.