The German youth has gone completely crazy - at least that part of them that is interested in politics and the environment and is ready to call out their own demands to the public.
Or how else to explain that these youth have nothing better to do than blocking bridges and highways to protest against food being thrown away.
At the same time, the Russian President is breaking international law, redrawing the borders in Europe and having his army invade Ukraine, although nobody thinks it necessary to protest.
Claudius Seidl
Editor in the Feuilleton.
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That was, only slightly exaggerated, the criticism of the youth, as articulated by Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir on the radio on Tuesday morning.
And because a few cranks actually got together last weekend and blamed the West, NATO and capitalism for the crisis on Ukraine's borders at the Brandenburg Gate and in downtown Munich, one could also read in newspaper commentaries that the German peace movement cowardly and opportunistic, a bunch of deluded leftists who see the slightest transgression by Americans as a crime against humanity.
Whereas they turn a blind eye to the truth about Putin.
It is true that the blame game on NATO and the West was wrong.
At least these demonstrators understood the meaning, the communicative structure of a demonstration better than their critics: the people against whom the protest was directed sat in the Bayerischer Hof and in the American embassy;
they could at least hope that their protest would be heard.
Frighten the majority of the indifferent
But who would the message be addressed to if tens of thousands demonstrated against Russian politics on German streets?
Vladimir Putin demonstrated on Monday evening that he can hide, ignore or misinterpret much larger parts of reality.
The news of protests in Germany would never reach him.
The only addressees left were the Putin sympathizers in the AfD and the Left Party, as well as Putin relativizers like Manuela Schwesig or Matthias Platzeck, who could once again be shown how wrong they are with large marches and mass protests.
However, this happens in every second talk show, in every third editorial - you don't have to demonstrate against Sahra Wagenknecht;
No one can put themselves in the wrong as well as they do.
When the masses take to the streets for what is the prevailing and official opinion anyway, then one only feels reminded of Iran, where the rulers will have to celebrate the harmony with the masses.
In liberal democracy it would be redundant and a waste of time to loudly demonstrate support for government policies.
"Russki go home" was written on a balloon in Billy Wilder's comedy "Eins, Zwei, Drei" - and if memory is not deceptive, the balloon burst without a Red Army soldier being impressed.
The activists of the "Last Generation", on the other hand, are already demographically in the minority when they are young compared to the elderly, who will be spared the worst consequences of climate change.
If they break the law, they will have to answer for it.
But that they want to frighten the majority of the indifferent with relatively drastic methods, if only because by the time they have reached the decisive positions of power it will probably be too late: That is the reason why demonstrations were invented.