Eurotopics.net

For the first time in 16 years, Angela Merkel will no longer be German chancellor. But after all this time the Germans have not voted for radical change, commentators note with delight and amusement.

Swiss voters backed same-sex marriage or "marriage for all" by a clear majority in a referendum on Sunday. The corresponding legislation was already passed last December but had not taken effect because of the referendum, whose initiators stirred up public opinion against the legislation for example with with photos of children crying over the supposed difficulties of life in a rainbow family. The Swiss media are all the more jubilant about the result.

In response to shortages. of petrol and foodstuffs, the British government plans to ease visa regulations for lorry drivers. The UK will issue 5,000 temporary visas for lorry drivers and and 5,500 for poultry processing workers. Commentators say misguided and delayed political decisions are to blame for the current situation.

A 19-member group of climbers was caught in a heavy blizzard on Mount Elbrus in Russia last week. Five of them died while eleven were rescued and hospitalised with injuries. The climbers had booked their ascent through a tour operator. At 5,642 metres, Mount Elbrus is the highest mountain in Russia and Europe. Commentators criticise unregulated commercial mountaineering in the Caucasus.

Germany elects a new parliament as well as Angela Merkel's successor on Sunday. The latest polls put the SPD under chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz in the lead with 25 percent, followed by the CDU/CSU with 22 percent and the Greens with 16 percent. As important as the election may be for Europe, most commentators don't believe it will change much in Germany's politics.