Youth protest splits as student body plans its own rally instead of 'Gen Z regelt'
Ahead of Halloween protests in some 30 German cities, the national student conference distanced itself and called its own rally in Berlin for Nov. 20. A YouGov poll found 54% consider the protests justified.
Archive image · Photo: Leonhard Lenz / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (cropped and resized)
Germany's youth protest movement is splitting. The Federal Student Conference has distanced itself from demonstrations planned by the "Gen Z regelt" initiative for Saturday, Oct. 31, and called its own rally in Berlin on Nov. 20. Secretary-General Amy Kirchhoff criticized the initiative's "unclear" organizational structures. According to the student body, the GEW teachers' union, the Federal Parents' Council and Fridays for Future have agreed to take part.
"Gen Z regelt" is planning protests in about 30 cities against rising living costs, for stronger climate action and against military conscription. Organizers say 146,000 participants have registered nationwide. A spokesman urged people to take to the streets "in solidarity and peacefully" and said the group was not responsible for actions outside registered assemblies.
The protest day is politically contentious. Greens co-leader Felix Banaszak accused the conservative Union bloc of trying to criminalize the protests preemptively. Brandenburg state premier Dietmar Woidke of the Social Democrats said some had chosen Halloween evening with intentions other than peaceful protest. In a YouGov poll, 54% said the protests were justified and 28% said they were not.