A "Last Generation" activist holds a poster in front of a luxury store. Previously, he had sprayed the façade with paint. © Paul Zinken/dpa
On Wednesday, the Bundestag will be dealing with the question: Should the "last generation" be banned? But is that even possible? A constitutional lawyer finds it "not radical enough" for this.
Cologne – In the past, it was often the AfD that criticized bans. Whether it's the speed limit, the end of nuclear power plants or the controversial party song "Layla" – the battle term "prohibition culture" was often used to refer to the fact that soon nothing would be allowed at all. Now the tide is turning. The AfD wants to ban something: the "last generation". On Wednesday, the Bundestag will discuss this motion.
The actions of the climate activists, who have been dominating the headlines for months, are divisive. Necessary evil to draw attention to the urgency of the climate crisis, say some. Criminal weirdos, the others. For the latter group, the consequence is actually obvious: ban! But is that even possible?
Ban on the "Last Generation": Interior Ministers Could Intervene
That would work theoretically, explains Friedhelm Hufen, professor of constitutional law at the University of Mainz. "The 'Last Generation' is not a registered association. Nevertheless, the prohibition provision of the Association Act applies. It is enough if there is an organizational structure and a common goal. This is undoubtedly the case with the 'Last Generation'." Thus, Section 3 of the Law on Associations would be applicable, according to which an association can be treated as prohibited "if its purposes or activities are contrary to criminal laws or are directed against the constitutional order." This would then have to be determined by a state minister of the interior or the Federal Minister of the Interior.
However, the justification is difficult. "It is not apparent that the purposes and activities of the 'Last Generation' are punishable as such, violate the principles of the Constitution or want to suspend the Constitution," said Hufen. The declared goal of the "Last Generation" is a "social council" that is to draw up bills for the Bundestag, whereby the members are to be chosen by lot. "The 'social council', but that's just my personal opinion, is not a good idea," says Hufen. "But it would certainly be within the Constitution." It would look different if the climate activists were to pursue the goal that the Bundestag should be abolished and replaced by a kind of eco-dictatorship. "Then the constitutional order would be in danger – and a ban would be very well justified," says Hufen.
Ban on radical groups: Caliph of Cologne, Viking Youth
The expert makes no secret of his antipathy for the "last generation". Nevertheless, Hufen says: "The activists do not want to abolish the constitutional order, despite all the fundamental criticism. It was different with well-known use cases in the past, such as the ban on the 'caliphate' of Metin Kaplan, the self-proclaimed 'caliph of Cologne', who wanted to establish a Sharia dictatorship. Or the 'Viking Youth', a neo-Nazi children's and youth organization that wanted to install a National Socialist Führer principle and had already procured weapons."
In comparison, the goals of the "last generation" are comparatively harmless. "They are not radical enough for the ban as the sharpest sword of the rule of law," says Hufen – and yet makes it clear: "Sticking yourself to the street is coercion. The auxiliary argument that one is in a state of emergency is also inadmissible. These are criminal offences. Nevertheless, it is not enough for a ban, because the purpose of the association as such is not to commit criminal acts."
The AfD thus finds itself in an absurd situation: Actually, the party must hope that the "last generation" will become radicalized. "Then you would actually have to rethink," says Hufen. However, what is already obvious applies in this case as well: the ban debate is more likely to be the subject of a legal paper. Because in practice, it would change little if the group were banned. "The actions wouldn't stop if the 'Last Generation' was banned tomorrow. The past has shown that a ban does not change anything. The right-wing extremists haven't gone away since the Viking Youth was banned," says Hufen.
