Former Green Party leader Ricarda Lang cautioned against generalizing and dismissing young people during the nationwide youth protests scheduled for Saturday. Speaking to the news channel ntv on Friday, she stated, “I believe we are currently on the verge of losing an entire generation.” Lang criticized the pervasive media coverage, arguing that the focus over the preceding week had been overwhelmingly on potential violence. She feels that the press has been prematurely and dramatically anticipating what might happen while almost completely overlooking the demands, the underlying frustration, and the fears driving these young people.
Lang noted that she speaks with young people who are growing up in a world of total uncertainty. She contrasted this with her own upbringing in a post-“end of history” era, which was marked by the expectation that “the great systemic competitions were over, and everything was getting better, even if we didn’t know how fast.” In contrast, today’s generation faces profound issues surrounding war and peace in Europe, struggles to achieve home ownership, and education systems that not only fail to deliver on the promise of social mobility, but actively negate it.
According to Lang, many young people no longer see value in the traditional promise of upward mobility. When she speaks to them about the dream of an affordable home, they often retort, “Yeah, please get lost. What I care about is being able to afford the rent.”
She commented that when politicians seem to address youth by simply handing them demands, such as “You must do this now,” it is hardly surprising when they take to the streets. While dialogue alone might not solve material problems, she agreed that it constitutes a necessary first step.
Lang was non-committal regarding whether Germany can function without mandatory military service. When asked, she replied, “Yes, but not certainly. There is a possibility, but I don’t want to commit to that direction right now.”
The initiative “Gen Z regelt,” which opposes cuts to educational funding, the introduction of conscription, and rising living costs, is currently gaining traction. Although the initiative specifically rejects violence, it does advocate for demonstrations bans, a stance supported by the Green Youth and the Left Youth. Ricarda Lang also signed a petition from the initiative, which they describe as an “open letter to the Federal Government.” Meanwhile, the Federal Student Conference has explicitly distanced itself from the planned demonstrations.
