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Green President Balthasar Glättli defends illegal actions. The fact that taxpayers have to pay for police operations is “basically okay”.
Illegal actions by the climate movement repeatedly provoke police operations. Last fall, the Extinction Rebellion movement tried to paralyze downtown Zurich for days. The police operation cost almost 700,000 francs. It is the taxpayers who have to pay, not the activists.
Green President Glättli thinks that’s justified: “I think it’s basically okay. Our democracy costs.” People always talk about the costs caused by the climate movement. “But actually you should talk about the costs that result if we don’t do climate protection.”
Blockades: Legitimate for the Green President
The climate movement is making a name for itself with radical protests. Glättli finds actions such as the blockade of the Rümlang tank farm last May legitimate: “Blockades are a well-known and proven means of non-violent resistance.” Such actions would shake people up. “An action on the patio doesn’t change the world,” says Glättli.
The Greens were able to grow in 2019, not least thanks to the climate movement in Bundesbern and are more strongly represented than ever before. The President of the Greens distances himself from actions where violence is involved: “For me, the limit is where you become violent – especially when it comes to violence against people. There’s no justification.”
Proceedings against climate protectors
As SRF Investigativ knows, The federal prosecutor is investigating the Extinction Rebellion movement. This threatens the Federal Council with road blockades if the Federal Council does not renovate one million houses by 2040.