Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) and the “Last Generation” met for a discussion. A spokeswoman for the climate activist group has now commented.
The spokeswoman for the “Last Generation”, Lea Bonasera, said after the exchange that it was a “very good conversation”. “We were very respectful of each other, listening to each other.” In terms of content, progress has also been made, but we will continue to talk to Wissing. A follow-up meeting in mid-May has been agreed. “The protest – we will continue,” announced Bonasera. “It is necessary.”
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Bonasera compared the exchange with Wissing to a union strike to enforce a collective bargaining agreement. In terms of content, the group’s demands for a speed limit on motorways, a new edition of the 9-euro ticket and the establishment of a company council were discussed. The activist said that one could once again show the urgency of the climate crisis and the need to act quickly.
The “Last Generation” climate activists have been attracting attention for some time with illegal traffic blockades and graffiti attacks on works of art. The FDP politician Wissing defended the meeting in advance on Deutschlandfunk with the words: “In a democracy you have to talk.”
“People who are angry in Germany, who are fed up with being stuck in traffic because others are blocking the road, who want a government to talk and arguments to be exchanged,” said Wissing. But it is clear that things cannot go on like this. “Of course I have zero tolerance for criminals,” emphasized the FDP politician.
Wissing considers the group’s demands for a speed limit of 100 on motorways and a significantly cheaper public transport ticket to be less efficient than the climate protection measures of the federal government. “I’m not convinced by the arguments of the ‘last generation’,” he said. “I’m surprised that the ‘last generation’ makes so few sensible suggestions for climate protection and at the same time proceeds so radically.”
“No Negotiations”
Before the meeting, the transport minister said: “I don’t have to conduct any negotiations and I don’t have to make any agreements there either.” However, he said he was willing to listen and enter into a dialogue to clarify whether it wouldn’t make more sense to look at what the federal government was already doing.
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A few hours before the meeting with the Minister of Transport, the “Last Generation” had again blocked roads in many places in Berlin. The police spoke on Tuesday morning of significant disabilities and many traffic jams. Several city highways and important intersections are affected. According to the spokeswoman, 170 emergency services were initially on the road, and the police then increased the number to 300.
