Climate protesters are using Nazi tactics, suggests German leader

The country’s reputation has collapsed, and it is not inconceivable that its government could now fall

OLAF SCHOLZ is facing heavy criticism for appearing to compare climate protesters who interrupted him to Nazis.

Speaking at an event in Stuttgart on Friday, the German chancellor was heckled by a group of activists.

He had been speaking about how jobs would be lost in the open-cast mining industry as Germany phases out coal-fired electricity generation.

Several activists interrupted the discussion, with one shouting “bulls---”.

Mr Scholz hit back with an off-thecuff remark, saying: “These black-clad interruptions at various events always by the same people remind me of what only used to happen a long time ago, and thank God [for that].” Luisa Neubauer, a prominent German climate activist known as the country’s Greta Thunberg, said the comparison between climate protesters and Nazis left her “speechless”.

“[Scholz] stylizes climate protection as an ideology with parallels to the Nazi regime. In 2022. Jesus. That’s such a scandal,” Ms Neubauer said.

Mr Scholz’s rebuke was applauded by many in the approximately 1,800-strong crowd attending the event, titled “Times of Change and Cohesion – Society and Politics in Uncertain Times”.

The chancellor said he recognised the tactic as a means of preventing objective discussion. He said: “I’ve also been to events, there were five people, dressed alike, everyone had a practised posture, and [they] do it again every time. [This is] an attempt to manipulate events for your own purposes. You shouldn’t do that.”

Disruption of political opponents’ events was a speciality of the Sturmabteilung, the Nazis paramilitary unit known as the Brownshirts, which played a significant role in Adolf Hitler’s rise to power. Christiane Hoffmann, a government spokesman, said it was “completely absurd” to suggest Mr Scholz was comparing protesters to Nazis.

She did not elaborate on what he had meant, but added: “It is the case that vehement disruptions to public panel events are not at all a contribution to a substantive discussion. On the contrary, they prevent objective discourse.”

‘I’m not as stupid as Kaiser Wilhelm II,” Olaf Scholz told journalists last week, voicing his fear that Europe is sleepwalking into a world war. Yet, many people are wondering whether the German chancellor is using his country’s burden of historical guilt to wriggle out of his pledge to supply Ukraine with the tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery it desperately needs.

The newspaper Die Welt has revealed that, in nine weeks, Germany has supplied none of the promised heavy equipment. Only light arms and defensive weapons have been delivered. Endless excuses have been offered by Berlin, from claims of secret Nato deals to attempts to blame the manufacturers. None of which has turned out to hold water. “Militarily, Ukraine is simply being left in the lurch by Berlin,” according to Andrij Melnyk, the Ukrainian ambassador to Germany.

Scholz’s Nato counterparts are now asking whether his word can be trusted at all. President Duda of Poland has been scathing about Berlin’s failure to honour its pledge to replace equipment that his country sent to Ukraine.

Indeed, Germany’s image as the leading power in Europe, already compromised by its addiction to Russian energy, has collapsed. With the exception of Hungary, the whole of central, eastern and northern Europe has joined the Anglo-american camp, demanding a tougher line towards Moscow. Berlin is no longer taken seriously among the countries most threatened by Russia – which are also among those that suffered most at the hands of the Nazis. Scholz’s serpentine manoeuvres have cast doubt on the sincerity of post-war Germany’s efforts to restore its reputation, and lessened the power of the motto, “Never again”.

It could have been very different. When Scholz announced his Zeitenwende (“turning point”) after the Russian invasion, the world sat up and took notice. His enhanced military commitment to Nato and Ukraine seemed to herald a new epoch, with Germany emerging from Angela Merkel’s shadow. In the 100 days since, however, his geopolitical immaturity has been painfully obvious.

Instead of turning Germany into the arsenal of democracy, Scholz has strung Volodymyr Zelensky along with empty promises. Meanwhile, Berlin’s billions continue to pour into Putin’s coffers: blood money for Russian gas and oil.

Together with Emmanuel Macron in France and Mario Draghi of Italy, the German chancellor has formed a triumvirate of appeasers, continuing to negotiate with Putin and entertaining concessions in return for a ceasefire that would freeze the conflict and leave Russia occupying vast tracts of Ukraine.

The latest round of phone calls to Moscow were touted as a chance to lift the Russian blockade of Ukrainian grain supplies. But the Kremlin is clear that shipments will only be permitted by its Black Sea fleet in return for the removal of sanctions. With this prevarication and bargaining, the Zeitenwende is unravelling.

But perhaps most importantly, Scholz is no longer even in tune with German public opinion. In the past month, his party, the Social Democrats, has done badly in two regional elections. Much of the public consider that the gap between what their leader says and what he does is now so wide that he looks like a liar.

Meanwhile, the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats, his coalition partners, are deeply uncomfortable. Unless Scholz can restore his credibility fast, it is no longer inconceivable that one or more parties could switch sides, bringing down the government just six months after it took office.

Abandoning the caution of the Merkel era, the opposition Christian Democrats are back in the game. Their new leader, Friedrich Merz, has visited Kyiv – unlike the thin-skinned Scholz, who was mocked by Ambassador Melnyk as a “silly sausage”. Within the coalition, it is the Greens, especially foreign minister Annalena Baerbock, who are setting the pace. On Ukraine, Ms Baerbock seems closer to hawkish conservatives such as Norbert Röntgen than she does to Scholz.

The fresh start promised for Germany is long forgotten. Instead, its embattled chancellor is simply out of his depth. Perhaps his comparison with Wilhelm II, however ill-advised, was apt after all. Scholz may not be as dim as the Kaiser, but he looks very like an emperor with no clothes.