"An Orderly New Beginning"

Opposition: Less of Russia and France, and greater proximity to the United States and Eastern Europe - if the CDU/CSU and FDP win the general elections they intend to pursue a distinctly different line in their foreign policies to that of the present Red/Green government. But the potential coalition partners are far from being in agreement about many of the issues. All of a sudden, differences in content are becoming mixed up with the squabble over the most prestigious cabinet offices which a Chancellor Merkel might be offering. The Foreign Office has been headed by FDP foreign ministers for 30 years, from Walter Scheel to Klaus Kinkel. Naturally, the Liberals intend to adhere to this tradition should they become part of the new government.

"It Lacks Vigour"

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with Ferdinand Piëch, chairman of Volkswagen's supervisory board, about his role as the chief overseer of the crisis-ridden car maker, the critical appraisal of the scandals and accusations of a personal conflict of interest:

"I want these events to be cleared up, down to every last detail. ... If any findings emerge as to who is responsible for what, then those will lead to consequences too. ... When I switched to the supervisory board after being chairman of the managing board, I gave those in charge plenty of rein. They have had three years to demonstrate what they are capable of doing. And my successor Bernd Pischetsrieder has been able to get his own impression of them. But you can safely assume that things will be less comfortable for some of them in future. ... Mr Pischetsrieder was the right choice. But it may perhaps help somewhat in the current tense situation if I spend rather more time in Wolfsburg again in future and if I ask a few more questions."

"Pulling No Punches"

Chip industry: Infineon's and Intel's no-holds-barred imbroglio shows just how bitter business in the computer trade has become. Because the costs for each new generation of chips are exploding on this highly competitive market, the fight is conducted with any means - even with unfair or illegal ones. As a result, chip manufacturers are showering one another with lawsuits charging product theft, dumping or illegal subsidies. Accusations range from blackmail to bald corruption.

"Nightingale without a Heart"

Russia: Sergei Mikhalkov has written three national anthems. He was in favour with Stalin, and an arch-enemy of Solzhenitsyn. Now Putin is celebrating him as the patriarch of a clan that always managed to swim along on top. It is not just Stalin's hymn that has been restored to honour again by Putin either, but the entire symbolism of a more glorious age. An age in which the Soviet Union was still great and powerful, and its army feared. The fund of legend has been smoothly augmented by ciphers from the god-fearing days of the tsars, without any apparent sign of incongruity. Sergei Mikhalkov personifies the spirit of his times, either still or again. Putin's Russia reveres him as the perfect subject.

"In the Land of the Word Mutilators"

Spelling reform: For more than 30 years, three professors of German have been arguing over commas, apostrophes and word divisions. The debate between the experts has long become a battle of faith. German faculties have not been arguing with such fury and resentment since the student sit-ins at German universities in 1968. The basic values of the Western world are generally called upon to justify a word division, and if websites could kill, linguists in Germany would be a dying race. On 1 August, the new rules will come in force in part of Germany. All states other than Northrhine-Westphalia and Bavaria are prescribing the use of the new spelling rules in schools and public authorities. Except for the sections on punctuation, hyphenation and writing compound words together or separated; there is still some need for discussion there. These are precisely the areas on account of which the reform was initially launched.

"The Middle-Class Doll"

Art: Four years after her death, the painter Hélène de Beauvoir is stepping out of the shadows of Sartre's famous partner Simone de Beauvoir and achieving posthumous recognition. The younger of the Beauvoir sisters was active as an artist for over sixty years, and her works are correspondingly wide-ranging. Her paintings portray a great deal of nature - landscapes and wildlife, water and plants - but also towns, buildings and people, in particular: women, over and over again. Simone de Beauvoir herself also often sat for her. Now her estate is up for sale, having been blocked for a long time due to inheritance disputes. Many of her paintings will be offered in Paris in August.

"Yearning for the Steppes"

Cinema: Byambasuren Davaa, a Munich film student of Mongolian origin, had a world-wide success with her documentary "The Story of the Weeping Camel". Now the new film by this Oscar-nominated director is opening at German cinemas: "Mongolian Dog". The follow-up work sold at top prices at the Cannes Film Festival in May. Davaa's timing has been perfect: documentaries, which led something of a shadow existence on cinema screens for many decades, have recently been enjoying increasing popularity. Davaa's documentary dramas present silent, unspectacular images from the everyday lives of Mongols. And they not only describe a foreign culture, but also tell a little story along the way: such as that of a camel mother (in the first film) who does not want to give milk to her child; or a young girl (in the new film) who finds a young dog in a cave and takes it back home with her.

"The Abolition of Dying"

Research into ageing: The dream of a fountain of youth is as old as mankind itself. Now an eccentric British scientist believes he has discovered how to stop and one day even reverse ageing. The biotheoretician Aubrey de Grey, who works at Cambridge University, has caused a stir among experts with his theory of rejuvenation. De Grey summarises the processes involved in the deterioration of our bodies in the form of seven causes of death, and comes up with a cure for each - as though the body were a machine which simply requires servicing and the occasional repair job. Established gerontologists criticise that de Grey's approach does not take into account the enormous complexity of biological processes. On the contrary, says de Grey, the gerontologists' thinking is too complicated: "The glorious advance of it is that we can circumnavigate our lack of knowledge." Because you don't necessarily need to know how damage was caused in order to fix it.

"Dwarf Armies in the Mind"

Inventions: A method developed by a Russian patent researcher promises to help baffled inventors achieve a breakthrough. One of its most successful users is a Franconian engineering company. With a host of helpers Genrich Altschuller ploughed his way through 200,000 patent specifications. His idea was that even the toughest problem may have been solved by someone at some time or another - either in the same way or along similar lines. In the end Altschuller summarised his findings in the form of 40 general rules for innovation.

"You Funny Me"

Globalisation: The English language is conquering the world - and, to the horror of British native speakers, the world is subjugating it. Every year some 2.3 billion dollars are spent on English courses. To be understood in the One World, and to protect your interests, you have to speak the One Language. After a fashion. It is normal for languages to continue to evolve - an on-going up-date, so to speak; but in world English this process is assuming unheard-of proportions. It is differentiating into regional languages such as pidgin (in the Caribbean), into specific realms of specialist terminology such as computer English, into the cool code of youngsters, and into a pared-down version for tourists.

"Overseas Colonial Master"

Soccer: US billionaire Malcolm Glazer makes money on anything that promises to be profitable. Recently he purchased Manchester United for 1.2 billion euros - most of it borrowed. The football club that was once the richest in the world is now that with the biggest debts. The large ManU community is collectively enraged by the fact that an American of all people, who considers every minute spent in a football stadium to be a minute wasted, has become the new master of the legendary Old Trafford stadium. They are describing it as the sell-out of a national institution. Servicing loans from the operating business will not be easy. The new ManU owner obviously believes that a large potential in turnover lies in the marketing of the 67,800 tickets for the Old Trafford stadium, which Glazer wants to enlarge by almost 8000 seats. Thus a ticket for a league game, for which fans have recently been paying an average 44 euros, will cost them almost 68 euros in five years' time. The crucial question is whether the business plan of the Glazer clan will succeed in hoisting the club to lofty new heights, or whether it will end in a colossal crash.