Sympathy for climate activists: Last Generation group, according to CSU leader Huber, no enemies of the state

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Activists of the Last Generation in Munich in August: No enemies of the state for Huber

Photo: Sachelle Babbar / ZUMA Wire / IMAGO

For more than a year, the Last Generation has been disrupting traffic with idiosyncratic protest actions, especially in major German cities. At present, in view of the upcoming elections, the activists are focusing their blockades on Bavaria – much to the displeasure of the CSU. But now, of all people, the former CSU leader Erwin Huber is defending the climate movement.

In an interview with Die Zeit, Huber expressed sympathy for the Last Generation. The group is therefore not an enemy of the state. "The Last Generation is not a criminal organization either. I have a different position than the CSU," he says. If the climate crisis really reaches us brutally, then perhaps the point will be survival, as the last generation says."

With this assessment, Huber opposes CSU leader and Prime Minister Markus Söder. He sees the road blockades as a criminal offence and threatens the activists "with the full consequence of the rule of law". In the past, Bavaria had already carried out an extensive raid against members of the Last Generation.

Criticism of Habeck

However, Huber also has criticism elsewhere: the heating law initiated by Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens). Due to the dispute over the law, Habeck had gambled away from the point of view of the ex-CSU chief, the candidacy for chancellor for the upcoming Bundestag election. "Unfortunately, he gambled it away himself. In 2025, the Greens cannot come with Habeck," Huber said. I would advise the Greens to take Baerbock again. Habeck is already very much burned by the Building Energy Act.«

According to the former CSU chief, Robert Habeck should focus more on philosophy. "I would also advise Habeck to be more of a philosopher than a politician," he says. Like the Green, the 77-year-old Huber studied philosophy – but only at an advanced age after his departure from politics. This taught him a lot, broadened his field of vision and made him more soft-hearted.

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