Massive protests in Biberach on Wednesday led to the cancellation of the Green Party’s Political Ash Wednesday. A disgrace for democracy, comments Knut Bauer from the SWR state politics editorial team.
This Ash Wednesday is not a good day for democracy. What happened in Biberach is a disgrace. The basic rights of democracy include freedom of expression and the right to demonstrate. However, this also includes listening to other opinions and accepting them, even if you don’t agree with them. Some of the protesting farmers in Biberach have completely abandoned this democratic discourse.
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Protests in Biberach: Just disrupt, don’t solve
They didn’t want to demonstrate at all and they didn’t want a serious exchange of views according to democratic rules. They just wanted to disturb, argue, shout like hooligans full of anger and hatred. Several police officers were slightly injured during the operation, and a window was smashed in a vehicle accompanying Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens). This is criminal rioting and not a democratically legitimate protest. And it is directed primarily against the Greens, who are seen as the new enemy.
From the beginning, right-wing extremists, twisted lateral thinkers and so-called Reichsbürger tried to infiltrate the farmers’ demonstrations. It is possible that it was the same in Biberach. However, this is a disservice to agriculture and its legitimate concerns.
Is this still democracy?
It is unacceptable that the traditional event of a governing party cannot take place, regardless of which party it is. And the fact that the AfD in Baden-Württemberg also recognizes the cancellation of the Greens’ political Ash Wednesday as a result of living democracy shows what understanding of democracy the right-wing populists have. They are okay with anything that undermines the state and its representatives. Shameful.
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