Cologne's Lord Mayor Henriette Reker has rejected agreements with the climate group Last Generation to avoid road blockades. "I will not give in," said the non-party politician on Monday on Deutschlandfunk.
The group has offered cities to refrain from future protests and so-called gluing actions if mayors stand up for the goals of the last generation. These include a speed limit on motorways, a permanent nine-euro ticket and the establishment of a society council with drawn instead of elected members. The cities of Hanover, Tübingen and Marburg have made such agreements. An ultimatum to Hamburg expires this Monday.
Reker said she was willing to talk, but not under these circumstances. From their point of view, the protests bring nothing to the group, and an end is a matter of time. "I always rely on people's ability to understand," said the mayor.
She hinted at criticism of colleagues who get involved in agreements. They might have a different idea of democratic processes. The actions of the last generation were for them in many cases coercion, but not "blackmail," said the lawyer. "It's not blackmail anyway, because they don't want money," she said. Among others, the FDP deputy parliamentary group leader Konstantin Kuhle had criticized the last generation to blackmail the public.