“Berliners are really fed up” with climate activists and their protests, the German capital’s burgomaster-governor, Kai Wegner, said on Thursday.
“The atmosphere on the streets of Berlin has reached a new level,” according to Wegner, who took office at the beginning of the year.
“We must do everything in our power to ensure that the police and the justice system work hand in hand and show that the rule of law is serious,” added the mayor, who was particularly critical of Last Generation activists who sprayed Berlin’s historic Brandenburg Gate with orange paint on Sunday.
However, Wegner, who addressed the Berlin parliament on Thursday, distanced himself from attacks on Last Generation protesters, who often obstruct traffic and sometimes set up shop in the streets.
“Taking the law into our own hands is not the right solution. We must remain calm,” he said. “I do not differentiate: if crimes are committed, they must be punished.”
