Status: 28.12.2023, 11:15 a.m.
By: Kilian Beck
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Austria is taking harder and harder action against the Last Generation. In an interview, activist Anja Windl talks about pre-trial detention, climate conferences and fear of an FPÖ chancellor.
Vienna – On a rainy morning, Anja Windl arrives for an interview in a café in Vienna's university district. About two weeks before the interview, she was released from pre-trial detention. The German, who lives in Austria, has been active in the climate activist group Letzte Generation for years. In November, she glued herself to a Viennese city highway to draw attention to the dangers of man-made climate change.
On the day of the interview with FR.de by IppenMedia, her dismissal made headlines again: The Ministry of Justice had issued an instruction prohibiting the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office from taking action against the decision of the Vienna Regional Court to revoke her detention. XXX The right-wing conservative ruling party ÖVP accused the Green Minister of Justice Alma Zadić of unjustified influence. Windl once again found himself on the front pages of the tabloids that the waitress spread out on the counter.
"Climate Shakira" is a "sexist devaluation" – Last Generation activist Anja Windl
Today you are on the front page of an Austrian tabloid. They have been calling her "Climate Shakira" for a year now. How do you feel about that?
I never wanted this kind of attention, nor did I want the reduction to my appearance and the rat's tail of sexist devaluation, the distraction from the existential threat we face. If it weren't for our livelihood, I wouldn't do it to myself to be so exposed in the media.
They were held in pre-trial detention for a few days in November. The Regional Court of Vienna very quickly rejected the application for detention of the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office as unfounded.
I was locked away for a total of four days. It hit me like a blow. In police custody, I was told that I would now be held in custody for up to six months. Before that, I had glued myself with others to a highway near Vienna, with a superglue-sand mixture. The police cut out a piece of asphalt while loosening it. That's why I was reported for serious damage to property. From my point of view, this was unjustified, but with acetone it would have worked faster and without damage.
In the prisoner transporter, I was so panicked that I started counting the screws in the cramped cell there to keep my senses. The deprivation of liberty really affected me. However, despite everything, I felt that what I was doing was right. This became immediately clear to me when I turned on the television in the prison and there was a report about the three degrees hotter world we are heading towards. That would be the end of human civilization. Each of us has a historical responsibility to prevent this from happening.
Protest of the Last Generation "to be prevented" – Investigations for "criminal association" also in Austria
In Austria, there are now investigations with the aim of declaring the Last Generation a "criminal organization". You are also being investigated for this. How do you see this?
It really worries me that there seems to be so much fear of the democratic instrument of civil disobedience. It is our right to protest that should be stopped. In a way, it is understandable that the state reacts when we emphatically draw attention to broken government promises. So for us, this is also an indication of the effectiveness of the protests. We are well represented by lawyers and so far it is only investigations, fortunately no charges have been brought yet. However, it opens up the possibility for house searches and the wiretapping of devices.
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In addition, you are subject to a residence termination procedure at your place of study in the Austrian province of Carinthia. What does this mean for you?
I was summoned to the Federal Office for Immigration and Asylum, where I was questioned for several hours about my risk potential. The reason for this was an administrative offence (note: Austrian term for administrative offence) due to an unannounced meeting in Klagenfurt. For comparison, this is legally like trying to expel someone for illegal parking. The proceedings are still ongoing. What really endangers public order and security, however, is the muddling around of politics.
Climate debate "less heated": Anja Windl on Last Generation and Austrian media
Austria's media are much more sympathetic to the Last Generation than their German counterparts. As an activist who is glued to the streets in Germany and Austria, how do you perceive this?
I notice the difference directly on the street. Here, we are much more often approached by people who say: 'It's great what you're doing here. Thank you!'. Statements and solidarity by scientists find a little more space in the reporting here, but at the same time even less happens politically. Due to the less heated media debate, there is less pressure on us on the street. But violence against us is still something we expect at every protest.
During street protests, motorists sometimes get frighteningly close to the activists of the Last Generation. © JOE KLAMAR/AFP
The climate conference ended with a rather weak resolution. How do you look at it?
Unfortunately, this was as expected. If you were to create a conference to combat alcohol addiction, no one would think of holding it at the Oktoberfest, putting a brewery boss at the helm and inviting over 1500 liquor retailers to it. The mere fact that it was the 28th COP, that we are in the hottest year in over 125,000 years and that we have blown more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than ever before, unfortunately shows that they are failing to have their effect.
Do you still have hope that German or European politics can make a difference?
If I had given up hope, I would not be in peaceful civil resistance. I am convinced that the climate movement must exert pressure at the national level, because this is where the decision-making authority lies.
Climate Citizens' Assembly: Demand of the Last Generation in Germany – Reality in Austria
In Austria, this means sitting down on talk shows with members of the turquoise wing of the conservative ÖVP around ex-Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. You recently sat with former Secretary General Laura Sachslehner at ORF. The depth of the debate was limited. What do you think about this?
I am particularly annoyed that it is not even possible to agree that we, as countries that produce the most emissions per capita, have a moral responsibility. Even as countries that are individually responsible for only 0.2 percent of global emissions, it is also true for us that just because my neighbor is robbing a bank does not give me the right to steal the wallet of the next best person.
Austria had a Climate Citizens' Assembly, in Germany this is a demand of the Last Generation. One hundred randomly selected citizens were advised by experts and made 2022 ambitious recommendations on climate protection policy in 93. Does this help your work?
From my point of view, it at least clearly shows that people can agree, regardless of their political convictions. Of course, you have to consider how the population as a whole supports this, but that's exactly why citizens' assemblies are a good way, they promote participation in decision-making. The average Austrian member of the National Council is a man over 50 years old, by whom I honestly do not feel represented. The Climate Council was more broadly positioned. It has simply wiped out social divides.
Thus, even in its current state, the Austrian state behaves in an authoritarian manner towards the Last Generation. How do you see a possible election victory for the right-wing authoritarian FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl?
I am concerned about the shift to the right throughout Europe. Right-wing governments mean setbacks for climate protection and democracy. I find it scary. At the same time, it is all the more important that we do our best to oppose it.
Anja Windl: We still need "disruption of everyday life" as a protest strategy
A Chancellor Kickl would be a direct threat to your movement. Are you preparing for it?
We are preparing for different scenarios. It's too early to talk about it now. The determination is great because it is quite clear how great the danger situation is at the moment. That is, even then, we will not stop and continue to resist the failure of the government. But there will also be a need for alliances beyond the climate justice movement and into civil society. We will have to defend our rights to democratic participation. Climate justice is also needed for this, otherwise the climate catastrophe will produce even more governments like the one under Kickl.
In November, a protest action by the Last Generation Austria made headlines across Europe: Some activists disrupted a Ski World Cup race in Gurgl. Why are you still protesting with sticky actions on the streets when such protests are so successful?
We much prefer such actions, because very few people are directly affected by them, but the response is correspondingly greater. The urgency of the climate catastrophe is thus given a bigger stage. But the street protests, on the other hand, have the advantage that you literally can't get past them. From my point of view, there is a need for a form of protest that ensures that everyone deals with it in a certain way. Like an unmistakable alarm. That is why the disruption of everyday life is still needed. (Interview: kb
)