SRF Arena to Klimademo: teacher explains to young people

Analysis

Former Teacher Quotes Ancient Greeks in SRF’s “Arena”: “Young People Are Just Cheeky”

In the SRF “Arena” it was discussed whether the climate academy on the Bundesplatz was legitimate or illegitimate. A former teacher provided a 5000 year old platitude on this.

The federal city of Bern experienced a heated political week. Shortly before Sunday’s monstrous vote, the public discussion was dominated not by issues of the initiatives and referendums, but by the great climate strike on Bundesplatz.

This week’s “Arena” was not primarily about factual questions about climate policy itself. The co_two– The law and other political issues were secondary. Moderator Sandro Brotz invited his guests on Friday night to discuss whether the end (green) justifies the means.

Consequently, those who wanted to say something had come, and not those who could say something (this was a nuisance for seasoned environmental politicians on Twitter).

To Brotz’s right was the chairman of the FDP parliamentary group Beat walti and the SVP National Council Roger koppel. To his left, the president of the Green Party Balthasar Glättli and the head of Juso Ronja Jansen. The latter intervened on short notice after the “Stand Up for Change” movement announced that its representative Hanna Fischer would not enter the “Arena” ring due to Köppel.

And so viewers were excited to see how the discussion would unfold on the television screen. Short spoiler: Suspicion of “agitation” did not occur. Nobody wanted to deny the existence of the climate crisis in front of the camera (even if it was one of the protagonists in the past tried tat).

The leader of the FDP parliamentary group, Beat Walti, opened the discussion with an idea of ​​his parenting methods: If one of his children had been to the Bundesplatz this week, he would at least have given a “critical comment” from the father at home. The rules would apply to everyone, Walti said of the fact that the Bundesplatz rally ban was violated with the climate camp.

No one denied this violation of the law on the show. Glättli and Jansen took the position that the demonstration was “legitimate” due to the prevailing climate crisis.

The question of the “rule of law” must be analyzed in more detail: the ban on demonstrations on the Bundesplatz is there so as not to interrupt parliamentary operations during a session. However, Jansen recalled that there was also a constitution, and later commented critically: “It is absurd that the constitution should be undermined just so that politics is not disrupted.” Then he turned the tables and accused the politicians in the Bundestag building of aimlessly politicizing; After all, lobbyists, even oil lobbyists like former Senior Vice President Albert Rösti, are there.

It was a good argument to counter even better the FDP National Adviser, Beat Walti: “We know that the oil lobby is in parliament. But we don’t know who is behind the climate movement. “If you had to rate the sharpness, Walti would have received a point. The FDP man, however, weakened his position several times during the debate, in which he suspected there was a big machine. of marketing behind the climate movements He is fascinated but not jealous With the statement that the actions on the Bundesplatz caused a “fatigue effect”, however, as a representative of the people, he stood on the sidelines.

The Greens scored with the rhetorical means of reflection. His party leader, Balthasar Glättli, mentioned “the discipline and decency” he experienced at the Bundesplatz. He would even have viewed the youth on climate as older than the many national councilors who made abusive and insulting statements this week in connection with the strike.

The Bernese Stapi Alec von Graffenried – also green, but only connected via stream – he even said that you are here in Switzerland and not in Belarus, so you don’t only have “drii gschosse”. “We wanted to clean it up; otherwise, Köppel would have needed police protection all week,” the mayor said.

However, both of them lost their credibility when they played the ignorant on camera. Glättli said he knew nothing about the occupation of the Bundesplatz. And von Graffenried even said that Berne city authorities had not been informed by the Federal Intelligence Service (NDB) or the police that something was coming. It should be noted that there were already rumors in the summer of a possible occupation of the Bundesplatz in the autumn and that the climate movement itself had announced “civil disobedience” for this week.

His appearance was highlighted by ex-professor Ernst Schläpfer, not to be confused with the multiple wrestling king of the same name, who also worked in education after his sports career.

Schläpfer took the audience on the express train through the history of climate crisis warnings. In the 1970s, for example, one heard scientists complain that in 1989 Al Gore’s findings also caused the earth to warm. (Editor’s note: Al Gore’s book was published in 1992). Not much has happened in all these years. That is why, as a former teacher, he understands the actions of climate youth. He recalled that ancient philosophers also complained that young people do not obey the rules and are rude. “Young people have committed this civil disobedience and I support it,” said the former teacher.

Towards the end of the broadcast there was a discussion on the (climate) issue. Jansen campaigned for a link between environmental, social and economic problems and complained that “realpolitik” was no longer oriented towards “reality”. Glättli and Walti praised the fact that Switzerland has made progress in protecting the environment over the past decades, although analyzes of green and liberal initially followed different approaches.

Glättli and Walti, however, found a common denominator at the end of the broadcast: the Green Party leader recalled that Switzerland had achieved these improvements through “bans and regulations,” which resulted in innovative technical alternatives. The National Council of the FDP agreed with him: “Certain things are simpler and more efficient when they are no longer possible and are prohibited.”