A year after an increasingly extremist climate movement began blocking traffic in Germany, the lack of a coherent set of goals of the so-called “Last Generation” is catching up to the young activists that wanted to “fix” the world.
“Shattered dreams, Chances thrown, Nothing’s free,” sang The Offspring in their 1999 hit “The Kids Aren’t Alright,” resonating with a generation of disillusioned youth. But while “the future was so bright”, Germany’s infamous youth-led climate action movement now appears to be somewhat “cracked and torn”.
On Wednesday, the movement was forced to tell the German tabloid BILD that two of their activists “booked a [long-haul] flight as private citizens, not as climate protectors. You have to distinguish between the two.”
Two street-blocking activists missed court because they’d flown to Thailand. A disaster for the “holier than thou” protest movement.
At that moment, the chickens of a group, built on somewhat shaky intellectual foundations, came home to roost. After all, their entire ethos was built on action for maximum impact, whatever the cost, not deliberation.
The “Last Generation” was founded by disappointed teenage/early adulthood activists politicised by the smashing success of the “Fridays for Future” movement. Yet slow-moving climate policy in Berlin and inspiration from the radical protests of the British “Extinction Rebellion” saw them set up their own iteration.
Initially centred on protesting against food waste, several of their members went on hunger strike ahead of the 2021 federal election. Using their bodily health as blackmail, they sought a dialogue with the Spitzenkandidaten of the big parties – designated Chancellor Olaf Scholz accepted.
When Scholz didn’t tell them what they wanted to hear, the group adopted headline-grabbing tactics in early 2022: body-blockading busy streets, backing up roads for kilometres. Soon after, they began defacing artwork with mashed potatoes and faux crude oil.
Their actions inspired activists in other parts of Europe as well- a bald activist glued their head to Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” in Den Haag.
But what are these activists trying to achieve?
A speed limit of 100 kilometres an hour on German highways and nationwide public transport for €9 a month. Their demands have been scorned as pitiful and insignificant in the context of the rather apocalyptic scenario humanity is facing.
It is the prerogative of every young generation to think they know better than their forbearers. More so, it is their duty. Otherwise, why bother with trying to improve the way things work?
But that becomes problematic when they begin to erode the foundation of our democratic system: Their simple-mindedness becomes all too obvious as they continue to insist that Germany needs randomised “citizen’s councils” consisting of “citizens like you and I,” as one of their spokespeople recently laid out.
This prompted immediate backlash from German politicians. What, then, are parliaments, they rightfully asked? Captured by lobbyists, the spokesperson replied.
In the activist’s minds, only institutions that produce the policy outcome they deem necessary appear democratically legitimate. Therein lies a dangerous trap for a movement that, thus far, has managed to remain non-violent.
But the current cracking, tearing and growing list of shattered dreams must not be the end of the “Last Generation.” After all, they are gifted with devoted activists willing to risk prosecution for their cause.
Instead, it is time to return to the drawing board and to coolly analyse what the German government is capable of doing that could have the greatest impact on the climate. A starting point could be providing additional climate finance for anyone who asks, from democracies to autocracies.
Imagine Germany taking up €500 billion of extra debt to help finance the green transition elsewhere. Or extending nuclear power.
The movement must put the finger where it hurts instead of demanding a feel-good policy like cheap tickets for public transport. Otherwise, its paltry demands pale in comparison to the doom they perceive lies in waiting for humankind.
The Roundup
The EU plans to double the number of Ukrainian troops it trains to 30,000, the bloc’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, announced on Thursday as top EU officials were due to meet their Ukrainian government counterparts in Kyiv.
After months of arduous negotiations, the much-debated and politically sensitive platform workers’ file was finally approved in plenary on Thursday, with 376 in favour and 212 against.
Exports from the Chinese province of Xinjiang to EU countries increased by 34% last year, data from the Chinese Customs Office shows, pitting the EU’s drive to uphold human rights and eradicate forced labour against the need for imported goods.
EU lawmakers approved the internal market (IMCO) committee’s text on the Regulation on Political Advertising, paving the way for the next phase of the legislative process.
The European Commission is organising a stakeholder meeting to inform them of a proposal designed to tackle the online piracy of live events like sporting events and music concerts, according to details seen by EURACTIV.
The Council of Europe (CoE) has urged Italy to scrap a decree seeking to regulate NGO migrant rescue operations at sea, describing it as a breach of international law in a letter sent on 26 January and made public on Thursday.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin arrived on Thursday in Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city, for a two-day Digital Forum, a high-profile event with very little visible presence of the EU countries or companies.
EU lawmakers approved the internal market (IMCO) committee’s text on the Regulation on Political Advertising, paving the way for the next phase of the legislative process.
As always on Thursday, don’t forget to check out our weekly Economy Brief and the Politics Decoded newsletter.
Look out for…
- European Commission President Ursula von der Leyden and her College of Commissioners participate in the EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv.
[Edited by Alice Taylor/Zoran Radosavljevic]
Source: euractiv.com
