STORY: Russian President Vladimir Putin as a devil who puts everything through the meat grinder. Or Putin giving the devil a heartfelt kiss. At the Shrove Monday procession in Cologne, many current topics are again in focus. The floats, designed to transport various messages, were unveiled on Tuesday. This much is clear, the organizers have not splashed out. After all, the Shrove Monday procession is something very special this year. “Of course, we have had to do without our Cologne Rose Monday procession for several years now, due to the pandemic and the war. And 200 years of Cologne Carnival, they simply call for something special to be done. And so the Cologne Rose Monday procession will be the first in its history this year connect the right bank of the Rhine with the left bank of the Rhine and accordingly cross the Rhine.” In Mainz. the chancellor will be present as a “Scholzomat” at the Shrove Monday procession. The caricature on wheels is one of ten floats that were also presented on Tuesday. The war in Ukraine is also an important topic here. “Well, we have several very topical issues. Starting with the gas shortage situation in Germany, caused by Nord Stream I and II. We have the women’s fight for freedom from Iran. Of course we also have the disappointing early elimination from the World Cup in Qatar. So we have a lot of current topics, but also, for example, a solution to the energy problems in the Mainz way, where the copious consumption of hand cheese with onions, so to speak, promotes biological wind energy.” When the parades in Cologne and Mainz start moving next Monday at 11:11 a.m., hundreds of thousands of people will again be standing on the side of the road and seeing the floats passing by for themselves.