Activists from the radical climate group “Last Generation” wrote the words “Be honest!” on the facade of the Federal Chancellery on Thursday morning. According to the Federal Police, six people were involved in the action. No further information was initially available.
According to the activists, the message is addressed to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who made a government statement in the Bundestag on the “current security situation” that morning. In a statement, the “Last Generation” “urged” the Chancellor to address the fact that the climate catastrophe poses an “acute” threat to security and life.
According to their own statements, the group had already posted the demand on the facade of the Willy Brandt House, where the SPD federal party headquarters is located, on Tuesday and Wednesday. The action was a reaction to the announcement by two hunger strikers that they no longer wanted to drink anything.
Climate activists from the “Starve until you’re honest” campaign have been trying for weeks to use a hunger strike to get Scholz to publicly announce that the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is already too high and that there is no CO₂ budget left. On Thursday, these activists announced that they would suspend their hunger strike for a week. “We don’t want to escalate any further.” They hope that the Federal Chancellery will offer to talk during this time.
At the end of November 2023, the “Last Generation” had already smeared the Brandenburg Gate with orange paint. Members of the group painted the west side of the gate with brushes – while at the same time the scaffolding remained on the east side, with which the paint residue from September was removed at great expense and in great effort. In April, three of those involved were therefore sentenced to suspended prison sentences. The damage amounted to more than 110,000 euros.