Thomas Berthold speaks on anti-corona demo

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Thomas Berthold at the demo on August 8th

Ex-national soccer player Thomas Berthold also appeared as a speaker at the "lateral thinking" demonstration in Stuttgart. According to the police, several hundred people took part in the event at which opponents of the corona protective measures gathered. The organizers spoke of 5000 participants.

Berthold said, among other things, that his trust in the political leadership had reached "below zero". From Berthold's point of view, the Robert Koch Institute is "sullied with speculation by a few scientists."

"Don't make me mean either with conspiracy theorists or right-wing populists"

Later, in an interview with "Bild am Sonntag", Berthold commented on his appearance at the demonstration: "I am neither with conspiracy theorists nor with right-wing populists, I just gave my opinion on the government's measures."

During his active career, 55-year-old Berthold played for Eintracht Frankfurt, FC Bayern Munich and VfB Stuttgart, among others. As a defender, he made 62 international matches, and in 1990 he became world champion in Italy with the German national team.

During the demonstration in the afternoon, the participants gathered in the heat on Marienplatz in Stuttgart. Then they moved towards the city center.

The demonstrators showed banners with inscriptions such as "With a mask - without me" or "We saw through you". They chanted "freedom, freedom". The demonstration was organized by the initiative "lateral thinking 711".

The police said that the afternoon was going to be calm. The participants try to keep the required minimum distances.

Large majority of Germans reject demonstrations against protective measures

According to a survey, a large majority of the population rejects demonstrations against the measures to protect against infection with the coronavirus. In a survey published on Saturday by the Forsa Institute on behalf of Mediengruppe RTL, 91 percent said they did not understand the protests. According to the "RTL / ntv trend barometer", only nine percent expressed their approval. A clear majority (87 percent) was also of the opinion that the people who take to the streets against the measures represent only a minority of the population.

bah / dpa