The positions could hardly be further apart – now it comes to the conversation. The Minister of Transport meets representatives of the last generation. And emphasizes in advance: He has “zero tolerance for criminals”.
Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing is meeting this Tuesday for an exchange with the climate activist group Last Generation. “In a democracy you have to talk,” said the FDP politician on Deutschlandfunk in the morning. “People who are angry in Germany, who are fed up with being stuck in traffic because others are blocking the road, who want a government to talk and arguments to be exchanged.” But it is clear that things cannot go on like this. “Of course I have zero tolerance for offenders.”
The group attracts attention with illegal traffic blockades and graffiti attacks on works of art. A few hours before a meeting, the climate group in Berlin again blocked roads in many places. The police spoke on Tuesday morning of significant disabilities and many traffic jams. According to a spokeswoman, there have been at least two dozen actions throughout the city since 7:45 a.m. Several city highways and important intersections are affected. According to the spokeswoman, the police were initially on the road with 170 emergency services, then increased the number to 300.
Wissing considers demands to be “not very efficient”
Wissing considers the group’s demands for a speed limit of 100 on motorways or a significantly cheaper public transport ticket to be less efficient than the climate protection measures of the federal government. “I’m not convinced by the arguments of the last generation,” said Wissing. “I’m surprised that the last generation makes so few sensible suggestions for climate protection and at the same time proceeds so radically.”
Regarding the upcoming meeting, he said: “I have no negotiations to conduct and I also have no agreements to make there.” However, he is ready to listen and enter into a dialogue to clarify the question of whether it would make more sense to look at what the federal government is already doing.
The activist group itself expects a “good human conversation” and an “exchange of constructive solutions for a necessary traffic turnaround,” as spokeswoman Aimée van Baalen RTL / ntv said.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
