“We have 2000 years of common church history”

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Today is Reformation Day. For Catholics, this day before All Saints’ Day is no reason to celebrate, as it represents Martin Luther’s division of the church in the 16th century. Century. This year, Christians are looking especially to the Reformation anniversary in 2017 in five years’ time. On our site interview Synod President Katrin Goring-Eckardt attempts a rapprochement.

Interviewer: To what extent will the anniversary of the Reformation also be a topic at the upcoming EKD synod in five years’ time??–

Ms. Goring-Eckhardt: This will even be the defining theme. We want to look at the theology for the Reformation anniversary. The synod has set itself the task of sending out a signal this year and influencing what is planned and what is done. We want to ask the question: What does the Reformation actually mean to us today?? What makes our faith today? Where is our heart moved? Where are the turning points in life? That was a central question for Martin Luther and the Reformers. In this respect, this is the central theme of our synod.

Interviewer: In other words, to relate everything that happened 500 years ago more closely to today?–

Goring-Eckhardt: Well, not just what was 500 years ago. We have 2000 years of common church history and the questions of doubt and individuality have always occupied us as Christians together. And of course a lot has happened in the last 500 years, in so far not only what was 500 years ago, related to today, but the question of what constitutes the Reformation today, based on the keywords of the Reformation. At that time, it was all about communication, and printing was a central ie, something we can hardly imagine today, when many people want to say goodbye to paper and books again. But today, of course, communication is also a central question in matters of faith. Or education or emancipation. All big topics that concern us just as much today as they did then.

Interviewer: Five years is still a while away – but are there already concrete plans for the anniversary celebration??–

Goring-Eckhardt: Of course. We will not only celebrate in Wittenberg and around Wittenberg, but on the one hand we will be on the road in Reformation cities all over Germany. But of course we will not lose the European view and we are sure that Reformation is actually also a world-class event. We don’t do it alone either, we do it with the catholic brothers and sisters in faith, with representatives of other religions, but we also do it with the "state" representatives and representatives. In a motion supported by all parliamentary groups, the German Bundestag has made it clear that the anniversary of the Reformation not only has something to do with religion, but also with history and our state. I have already mentioned the topic of education, but of course also the reference to individuality, the responsibility of the individual, the development of democracy, all this has a lot to do with the Reformers and their confessions. In this respect, it is not something where we rejoice behind closed doors about something that only concerns us, but we want to go out into the world.

Interviewer: You have just mentioned ecumenical cooperation. The Catholic ecumenical bishop Gerhard Feige from Magdeburg said yesterday on this site that from his point of view Catholics are not that enthusiastic about the anniversary of the Reformation and cannot celebrate it so happily. How do you see it?–

Goring-Eckhardt: I very much hope that it will succeed. There is still a little time for that. We really want to celebrate together, because you can’t say that with the Reformation anniversary we wanted to celebrate something that distinguishes us, but rather we are celebrating that we have put the word and the person of Christ back at the center. And we can now really celebrate this together, there will be no distinction between the denominations, even if there are of course still things that separate us. And the reference to Christ, the reference to the Word of God, the reference to grace – now that is really something that unites us. And I very much hope that we can really celebrate this together. And it is not the case that church history has stood still and that some have gone in one direction and others in the other, but rather that we have taken many steps together. The Second Vatican Council is an example of where the question of individuality and grace played a major role – and that was 50 years ago. Why should we not be able to commemorate it together.

Interviewer: This means that the Catholic Church is now also playing an active role in the preparations and planning for the anniversary? —

Goring-Eckhardt: We are holding many discussions, and of course we are holding them centrally, between the EKD and the German Catholic Bishops’ Conference, so to speak, but we are also holding them at the international level and, above all, we are also holding them in the parishes. In the meantime, they are also preparing themselves, the regional churches are also preparing themselves, and there it is never possible without including the Catholic brothers and sisters, in whatever way. And it is also aimed at us as Christians, in the sense of an arance of what we believe, to make clear, even in a world that is becoming more and more secular, what we are actually about. I think that is a good claim, for that one can also use such a jubilee, which leads now once to the fact that the spotlights are switched on, together. Background
Protestant Christians nationwide celebrate Reformation Day this Wednesday. The Protestant Church commemorates its origins with church services and numerous events. Almost 500 years ago, on 31. October 1517, Martin Luther circulated his 95 Theses against the abuses of the late medieval church. This date is considered the beginning of the Reformation. About 100.000 mainly young guests are also expected nationwide for so-called ChurchNight actions and Luther parties.
This is meant to contrast with the widespread Halloween celebrations.

On Reformation Day, the First broadcast the central service live from Leipzig’s St. Thomas Church starting at 10 a.m. The sermon will be preached by Nikolaus Schneider, President of the Council of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD). This is also his first official appearance after a long illness. The service will celebrate the 800th anniversary of the famous St. Thomas Boys Choir. Afterwards, the Martin Luther Medal will be awarded to the conductor and former director of the Bach Academy Stuttgart, Helmuth Rilling (79).

The new theme year "Reformation and Tolerance" of the Luther Decade will be opened in Worms on Wednesday evening. This also marks the halfway point of the Decade, with which the Protestant churches and the federal, state and local governments are jointly preparing for the anniversary of the Reformation in 2017. The Luther Decade, which began in Wittenberg in 2008, focuses on a different theme each year. The year 2012 focused on "Reformation and music".

At the opening of the new theme year 2013, the EKD ambassador for the Reformation anniversary, Margot Kabmann, preaches. Federal Minister of the Interior Hans-Peter Friedrich (CSU) is also expected to speak in Lutherstadt.

Reformation Day is a public holiday in the new federal states, but not in Berlin and in the old federal territory. In Thuringia, this day is celebrated as a public holiday only in predominantly Protestant communities.

Katrin Goring-Eckardt between church office and top Green Party campaigner
Synod president and Bundestag vice president: Katrin Goring-Eckardt (Greens) has long combined Protestantism and politics in one person. Next week, however, her dual role will be particularly piquant: When the church parliament of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) begins its deliberations under her chairmanship on Sunday in the Baltic Sea resort of Timmendorfer Strand, the counting of votes in the Green Party’s primary election for the top duo in the Bundestag election will begin at the same time. Goring-Eckardt is also a candidate for this post.

So far, the 46-year-old is taking this simultaneity of events in her stride: "Fortunately, they’re only counting," she said in Berlin on Monday. She has a clear agreement with the presidium of the EKD Synod: If she becomes the top woman in her party, she will leave her church office. Politicians from the CDU/CSU and FDP already judged Goring-Eckardt’s application for the top election team as incompatible with church offices. But the presidium did not see this as a problem.

According to the Greens’ timetable, the latest date for her election is 9. The result of the primary election will be known in November. If the counting of votes is finished earlier, it could tangentially affect the synod session, which runs until 7. November lasts. "It will not go faster," Goring-Eckardt is convinced.

For the Green politician, political and Christian responsibility have always belonged together. Born in Friedrichroda, Thuringia, Goring-Eckardt studied Protestant theology in the GDR. In the time of political upheaval, her political commitment began. She was a founding member of "Democracy Now" and "Alliance 90". She has been a member of the Bundestag since 1998, has served as
2002 to 2005 parliamentary group chairwoman. Bundestag vice president she is since 2005.

At the same time, she has taken on church offices: Since 2009, she has been president of the EKD synod. She was also responsible for the 2010 Protestant church congress in Dresden as president. As synod chairwoman, she is also a member of the EKD Council.

Goring-Eckardt’s church commitment sets her apart from the other candidates in the primary election. Among the four candidates with the most prospects – apart from her, these are the parliamentary group leaders Renate Kunast and Jurgen Trittin as well as party leader Claudia Roth – she is even apparently the only one who professes her faith. At one of the primary election forums, at which the candidates for the top post faced questions from the grassroots, they were asked whether they believed in God, says Goring-Eckardt. "I was the only one who turned the sign to "yes"."

The Thuringian – the only candidate from eastern Germany among the top candidates – is nevertheless not a promising candidate. "Spiegel Online" recently asked Green voters which team should lead the Greens into the Bundestag election campaign. For Goring-Eckardt, this left only a place in the fourth most popular pairing – alongside Jurgen Trittin and trailing behind the other political pros.

The hope that the party base decides differently than the supporters, Goring-Eckardt is nevertheless noticeable. "I am glad that Synod is. Then I don’t have time to be nervous," she says. And while she then has to exercise political restraint as president, others have it easier: German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) and SPD candidate for chancellor Peer Steinbruck are also expected at the synod.

Buying a car will also increasingly shift to the internet in the coming years. Experts agree on this.

There’s really nothing you can’t buy on the internet. Until now, the last bastion seemed to be the purchase of a new car. But here, too, things are shifting. It is above all the prices and convenience that will make online sales of new cars far more attractive in the future than going to the dealership.

In the corona pandemic, car purchases were at times only possible without contact. However, new car sales via the internet are likely to play a far more important role in the future than they have done to date. It is primarily the vehicle manufacturers who are driving this development.

By the middle of the decade, more than 30 percent of all new cars in europe will be sold over the internet, according to a study by the consulting firm bain. The driving force behind this development is, on the one hand, the younger, digital-savvy customers for whom shopping on the Internet is a matter of course. On the other hand, the manufacturers themselves also have an interest in getting at least part of the distribution into their own hands, in order to save on the expensive dealer network.

Tesla has refrained from selling its vehicles at a dealer from the outset.

Some brands like tesla, polestar or lynk& co have already completely or partially dispensed with physical dealerships, while others such as mercedes at least offer the option of buying their own cars online. In addition, portals such as autohero also sell cars online.De, mycar.De or yesauto.Com vehicles directly via the net.

even germans open to online car sales

And even new car customers in Germany, who traditionally tend to be rather conservative, are open to buying online, despite the significant price differences compared to buying from a dealer, as a survey by the expert organization KuS shows. Around 12 percent of participants would definitely buy their entire car online – from the presentation of the vehicle to the signing of the contract. Only 8 percent refused to buy online altogether.

franz reiner, ceo of daimler mobility, also observed a relatively high level of approval: "online purchasing is definitely becoming more important in germany as well. The corona pandemic has changed customer behavior. Although other parts of the world are adapting faster, especially the chinese and the scandinavian countries, the internet is still the only way to go. but central europe has recently made strong gains in the acceptance of buying cars online."

Convenience and price discounts are the incentive

Convenience and price discounts for new cars are to become the driving force for online retailing.

Positive experience in the online purchase of other used goods plays a key role in this context. Relatively reliable merchant and product rating systems, as well as consumer-friendly return policies, have quickly built trust in the past. Across all age groups; even seniors have long since ceased to be a marginalized group online.

In the long term, everyone should benefit not only from increased convenience but also from a price advantage, because centralized online sales via the manufacturer or a third-party supplier bypasses the indirect sales system via authorized dealers that has grown for decades. "Stationary car dealerships are very expensive. The customer pays a good 10 percent of the new car price just for the dealership.", explains car expert ferdinand dudenhoffer from the CAR center automotive research in duisburg, germany. If dealers were removed from the marketing chain between factory and customer, a lot of money could be saved.

Technology is the biggest obstacle

The biggest obstacle at the moment is probably still technology. But progress is being made there, too. Daimler mobility, for example, is working on a seamless online purchasing experience. One of the most important components is the automation of the credit application process. "Today, we can already achieve fully automated in over 80 countries", says daimler mobility boss reiner. "This means that the application comes in digitally, is checked digitally, without there being anyone to look at it. then the customer or the dealer gets the credit approval within seconds." at the beginning of 2021 the stuttgart company had already introduced the possibility of a digital contract signature, so that in the meantime the complete purchase transaction can be done from the computer.

It is doubtful whether the premium brands will completely abandon personal contact with their customers.

reiner himself does not see an insoluble conflict with the contract trade in the long term. "Dealers are not only ready for the digitization of car buying, they are demanding it. Because customers also demand it." a luxury brand in particular can also benefit from a dealer who can lift the emotional buying process out of the sober net and act as a face for the customer.

At least in the mind of brand strategists, a mercedes is not bought like any other consumer item. A real contact person is also important in other respects: because all cars have to be inspected or repaired on a regular basis. And this can not be done online for the foreseeable future.

decline of the car nation germany? Production at 1974 levels

THE WORLD photo shoot Sept. 27-Oct. 7, 2016

The last time so few cars rolled off the assembly line in Germany, Volkswagen brought out the Golf 1

T he german auto industry has slipped into a deep crisis in 2021, masked by companies’ good financial results. In fact, automotive production this year fell to 1974 levels. This is shown by data from industry expert ferdinand dudenhoffer, which is available to WELT.

According to the report, only 2.85 million passenger cars will roll off the assembly line in the country by the end of 2021, a 19 percent drop from an already very weak 2020. For dudenhoffer, who heads the private center automotive research (CAR) in duisburg, "a pitch-black year for car production in germany is coming to an end.

the last time so few cars were produced in germany was in 1974; at that time, the world was under the impact of the first oil crisis and the VW golf came onto the market as the successor to the beetle.

the cause of the current slump is the acute shortage of semiconductors throughout the auto industry. Triggered by the corona pandemic, natural disasters and errors in the purchasing departments of the companies, the manufacturers have not been supplied with sufficient semiconductors for a good year now.

These parts are needed in many parts of the vehicle, from ABS to lighting systems to navigation systems. According to CAR’s figures, the factories in Germany are disproportionately affected by the bottleneck: in the USA, China, Japan, South Korea and Mexico, the decline in production was significantly lower in percentage terms.

The decline of the site is becoming clear

In india, car production actually grew in 2021. Germany now ranks seventh behind these countries in the international rankings of the largest car producers. A dramatic fall: last year, the federal republic was still in fourth place.

Decline of the car nation germany? Production at 1974 level

If you look at a somewhat longer period of time, the decline of the location becomes even clearer. The turning point in car production in germany was in 2017, since then the curve has been falling steeply. Today, the number of cars produced is 50 percent lower than it was then.

In the other countries, the decline was much milder: after Germany, the biggest drop compared to 2017 was in Mexico (-24 percent) and the USA (-22 percent). In china and japan, car production shrank by only 19 percent compared to 2017. "the semiconductor crisis shows the weaknesses in the purchasing departments of german automakers, but even more so in the location position of germany as an industrial country," says dudenhoffer.

futuristic engine Getty ImagesGetty Images

The worldwide production figures of the German groups look very different from those in Germany. By the end of september, volkswagen and mercedes-benz had built almost as many cars as in the previous year, BMW even 15 percent more. In the fourth quarter, the figures will plummet because, for example, the VW main plant in Wolfsburg was shut down for weeks due to short-time working.

Shadows on the car nation

However, dudenhoffer believes that a slump like that in German car production is not to be expected internationally. "a big shadow is therefore cast over germany as a car nation," he says. Due to its expensive cost structures, such as the high energy prices, the location is more sensitive to crises.

BMW, mercedes and VW have obviously shut down their plants abroad far less than in germany. Because of its expensive cost structures, such as high energy prices, the site is sensitive to crises. Both had sent thousands of workers into short-time work, and production at ford in cologne and saarlouis in particular is likely to be far below the previous year’s figure.

Many carmakers have been hit particularly hard by the chip supply bottlenecks

But the two manufacturers together account for only about one-tenth of the country’s total car production. Compared to this, the political storm that opel had reaped by the end of the year with the plant closure in eisenach was enormous. The brand’s parent company, stellantis, had decided to build the grandland X model exclusively in a factory in france for a few months. And for the workers in eisenach to register for short-time work.

For many of the short-time workers, the consequences of the crisis are bearable, at least financially. At volkswagen, it doesn’t even seem to be hitting the mood. the "satisfaction index" of the annual employee survey has risen to 76.2 points this year, according to chief executive officer herbert diess.

Time off with full pay

In 2018, the value had been 70.8 and has been growing continuously since then. "i see this as a clear confirmation and approval also of the path taken of radical reforms and preparation for the #NEWAUTO world," diess writes on linkedin.

won lkombo Markus Haas ,Chief Executive Officer (CEO), single image,cropped single image,half figure,half figure. Annual General Meeting TELEFONICA Holding Deutschland AG on 09.05.2017 in Munich. picture alliance/FrankHoemann/SVEN SIMON | 90500661 Alexander Sixt during a photo shoot for the Deutsche Presse Agentur at the company headquarters together. After half a century, Erich Sixt hands over the chairmanship to his two sons. picture alliance/dpa/Peter Kneffel | 245063943

Workers at the wolfsburg parent plant can hardly complain either: the group increases short-time allowance to almost 100 percent of salary on the basis of company agreements. This means free time with full pay.

This situation is not expected to change quickly in the coming year. Both diess and daniela cavallo, head of the works council, have already prepared employees for the fact that the semiconductor supply will not improve significantly in the coming year.

The consultants at the Boston consulting group expect demand for the components to still be ten percent higher than supply at the end of 2022. After ten million fewer cars were built worldwide in 2021 than would have been possible as a result, experts expect a gap in production in the coming year as well.

They estimate the global shortfall at seven to eight million passenger cars. Part of the production shortfall will again hit the germany site.

The end of the semiconductor drama is not yet in sight

At the beginning of the year it was still said that the economy would soon be booming. In truth, however, germany is currently running behind many countries. One culprit has been identified: the shortage of computer chips. All sectors suffer, but especially the auto industry.

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