In fact, only a few topics survive the onslaught of the coronavirus. Like a tsunami, it casually washes away all attempts to decorate even the most insignificant front pages with any other topic. No advertising agency in the world has ever devised such a successful market strategy.

However, some serious attempts to regain control of the news are simply swept under the media carpet. What attempts have there been to catch at least a little attention? Well, after all, Trump has also sent out his daily water level reports. But he has also ridden the coronavirus wave more or less like a surfer (even if it completely overtook him in the end).

Far removed from global politics, Scheuer, the German minister responsible for transport, has spared no effort or embarrassment to put himself and his government in the spotlight. After the brilliant test run with the car toll (even before Corona!), he promptly followed up and showed that it is quite possible to sign contracts without legal certainty and warnings from the contractual partners (!). The last lifeline, a Europe-wide toll solution, is now "not being pursued", which is a shame ...

But there is also enough to offer beyond the passenger car toll. The truck toll is also (finally!) making headlines again. The judges at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg ruled that only infrastructure costs, i.e. those for the construction, maintenance, operation and expansion of the relevant transport routes, are eligible. In any case, this does not include the costs of police activities, as these are the sovereign responsibility of the state.

However, anyone who thinks that the (wheat beer) barrel is already full to overflowing can take another one. The way in which an amendment to the Road Traffic Regulations (StVO) can be overturned with a "citation error" in the preamble is worthy of all academic honors; until now, it was thought that only doctorates lost their (honorary) value as a result ... Evil tongues (today they are called modern lateral thinkers or theoretical conspirators) are even considering that the "little error" crept in with an open mind in order to herald a new round of discussion. Didn't the Federal Council recently "smuggle" stricter fines and "faster" driving bans into the amendment? But Scheuer's house didn't agree with that at all ...

The top product of the Federal Ministry of Transport, however, is and remains "Die Autobahn GmbH des Bundes" (The Federal Motorway Company), in order to be able to plan, build, operate, maintain and finance the freeways in Germany from a single source. Together with the new "Fernstraßen-Bundesamt" (FBA) as the link between the ministry and the Autobahn Gesellschaft, the aim was to achieve a major success, literally to become "the biggest administrative reform in the history of the autobahn". The idea was to finally let the (paper) tiger out of the tank!

However, the plan to merge the Autobahn Gesellschaft and DEGES (Deutsche Einheit Fernstraßenplanungs- und- bau GmbH, you will remember) turned out to be the biggest construction error in the history of the love affair between the Autobahn and the administration. This is because twelve federal states are (and at one point were) majority shareholders in DEGES, and that is not at all possible with the federal government. Oh yes, weren't there also the highly remunerated, non-tariff employment contracts (with excessive severance pay arrangements)? Anyway, enough is enough. With all this, the bar for 2021 has already been set almost unattainably high anyway.

As the federal states are unfortunately all "running" incompatible IT systems, a pragmatic solution needs to be found quickly. And lo and behold, this should actually be found and implemented by the end of 2023! If our anti-digital hygiene concept (including social distancing!) worked just as well with coronavirus as it does here, we wouldn't really have to worry about the virus any more. After all, we already have the (inexpensive) Corona app! In any case, there is plenty of room for inexpensive fantasy apps in 2021 that also make a difference.

However, the issue of freeways can be approached in a much more radical way. Under the slogan "We need a different transport policy" (party chairwoman Annalena Baerbock), the Greens have already called for a moratorium on the construction of new freeways and trunk roads. A review of climate targets and economic viability would have to take place first. In fact, this would of course mean a complete (temporary) halt to all new construction projects in this area. However, there was no majority for this innovative idea in the Bundestag.

You shouldn't make jokes about finances in relation to infrastructure (more of a "love-hate relationship") right now. The topic is too serious, even to be taken seriously. This is not supposed to be about the "running gags" of Stuttgart 21 or BER, which are only about half a billion, one billion, two billion or more extra (per report). No, these add-on projects destroy budget funds but do not disrupt traffic any further. Stuttgart still has a main station and hardly anyone wants to fly anyway. In Düsseldorf, an entire terminal has now been shut down.

It's about the backbone, sorry backbone, of our transportation, the "backbone", which we are increasingly losing sight of. One bridge after another is classified as so dilapidated that it has to be completely demolished and rebuilt. Project planning is now well into the 30s (of this century!). Obviously, a huge gamble was made here. We should have been shown the cards much earlier. Space is also becoming scarce in the cities, even for the marches of lateral thinkers and aluminium hats. The latter are supposed to protect us from outside influence. Also from overheating, but there is probably no serious danger of that for those affected.