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Activists of the "Last Generation" put up posters at the "Basic Law 49" monument on Saturday
Photo: Sven Kaeuler / dpa
What's the matter?
On Saturday, activists from the »Last Generation« smeared the »Basic Law 49« memorial at the Bundestag in Berlin with a black liquid and attached posters to it that read »Oil or Basic Rights?«.
The programmed indignation then broke out, which threw itself on the fact that the activists had attacked and soiled the Basic Law and were therefore enemies of democracy.
Here the three
probably the most drastic Twitter reactions from politics:
'What a cheap, undignified move.
You shit on basic rights, destroy art like the Taliban and still feel like heroes!
Do you seriously believe that you are advancing climate protection?!«
Michael Roth, SPD, Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Bundestag
»Attention is not an end in itself.
Anyone who demonstrates for climate protection can certainly do so in a way that is neither good nor conformist.
Destroying works of art, ridiculing our free constitution+democracy certainly does nothing for the cause – on the contrary!«
Ralf Stegner, SPD, member of the Bundestag
»With the public destruction of the Basic Law, the last generation has finally dropped its ugly face and shown where it stands: against the state and against the free, democratic basic order.
These haters of freedom are the last scum.«
Frank Müller-Rosentritt, FDP, Member of the Bundestag
Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser also criticized the action: “There is no justification for smearing fundamental rights of all things – and that too in the Bundestag, the heart of our democracy.
This shows that these people only have chaos in mind.
This completely unworthy action must now be consistently prosecuted,” said the SPD politician to “Bild am Sonntag”.
What is it about?
According to their own statements, the climate activists wanted to draw attention to the fact that fundamental rights are already in danger due to the policy of the federal government, which is reacting too hesitantly to climate change.
In their press release on the action it says: »The burning of oil leads us to climate hell.
In climate hell there is no human dignity, no freedom and no right to life.
The federal government does not protect our fundamental rights.«
They point to the judgment of the Federal Constitutional Court in 2021, which said that the German climate protection law was partially unconstitutional.
My colleague Susanne Götze analyzed at the time that the judges declared that
»that there is a danger that future very high emission savings will 'potentially affect' the freedom of the individual and thus threaten it with drastic restrictions.
The legislature must therefore take appropriate precautions “to safeguard freedom protected by fundamental rights” and distribute the savings better.
The regulations in the climate law are not sufficient for climate neutrality, which is why the government must present a roadmap for the period from 2031.«
The federal government has now announced the goal of climate neutrality by 2045.
It's too late for the »last generation«.
What is it not about?
The abolition of the Basic Law or democracy, at least that cannot be deduced from this action.
One could also see it as a call to action - to the federal government to protect the Basic Law from the climate catastrophe in the future.
Who started?
This can be argued again (starting with what?), but let's just say that it was the climate researcher Hermann Flohn, who died in 1997, who was quoted in SPIEGEL in 1977.
He said climate change "could only be prevented if the energy problem could be solved at international level and if the mesmerizing idea of unlimited growth - which inevitably leads to catastrophe - can be overcome by an acceptable compromise".
Like I said, that was in 1977.
Who doesn't get it?
Bernd Ulrich from »Zeit« for example: »This action and the one with the sawed-off tree: I can’t keep up with it anymore, @AufstandLastGen .
It's so twisted, cerebral and immediate.
Maybe you should take a break for a moment."
Apparently the slogan »Oil or fundamental rights?« is too complex after all.
Two years ago, the Federal Constitutional Court determined that if we continue with oil and CO2 emissions, the climate crisis will result in a restriction of basic human rights (see above).
Whether this can be prevented with the updated climate protection law is open to debate.
Whether the actions of climate activists are helpful in this debate, too.
Why now?
Apparently there wasn't anything more exciting going on at the weekend (including a 7-0 win in the Premier League's top game).
Did not we have that before?
Yes.
Soup on paintings, sticking campaigns on highways, cutting down trees in front of the Chancellery – the campaigns of the “last generation” are quite effective in terms of attracting attention, it has to be said.
It seems that there is hardly anyone who is reasonably active on Twitter who has not spoken out over the weekend.
What is overlooked?
What does the Basic Law say again?
What follows?
Not much probably, the memorial is doing fine.
Do I have to read anything else?
Maybe this column by Christian Stöcker about how we deal with fire:
Farewell to fire:
Humans have been burning things for energy for hundreds of thousands of years.
We love fire - but we could and should do without it for a long time.
Or this analysis by my colleague Susanne Götze on the judgment of the Constitutional Court in 2021:
Festtag for Future:
For the first time, the Federal Constitutional Court has issued a warning against German climate policy.
The reason: Without sufficient climate protection, freedom is in danger.
What the verdict means and what consequences it has.
This FAQ from my colleague Dietmar Hipps on what activism is allowed and what is not:
What is protest allowed to do?
How far can climate activists go?
When does criminal law take effect and what are the legal differences to earlier forms of protest?
We answer the most important questions.
Or the most important articles of the Basic Law, selected by the same colleague on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the German constitution in 2019:
You must know these five articles:
70 years of the Basic Law, time for a tribute: Karlsruhe correspondent Dietmar Hipp has selected five articles and explains why they are crucial: from human dignity to freedom of the press.
