A third man has joined a weekslong hunger strike near the office of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz in Berlin as part of the “Starve until you are honest” campaign demanding honesty on the climate catastrophe. The activists, camped out in a tent near the Chancellery, are calling for Scholz’s government to take a more radical approach to fighting climate change.
The latest participant in the hunger strike, Michael Winter, a biologist from Bavaria, joined in solidarity with the cause, stating that he could not stand to see science being ignored by the government. The first two participants, Wolfgang Metzeler-Kick and Richard Cluse, both engineers, have been on strike for over three weeks and 40 days respectively, with Metzeler-Kick claiming to have lost 18 kilograms during the strike.
The activists argue that Germany has the technology to become carbon-neutral but lacks the political will to implement it, criticizing the government for what they see as ignoring the problem, failure, and lies. Despite being treated by doctors, the government has not directly engaged with the activists, with a spokesperson warning against radical forms of protest that can damage one’s health.
In response, the hunger strikers remain steadfast in their demands for Scholz to acknowledge the severity of the climate crisis. They believe that the chancellor’s reluctance to address their concerns indicates a preference to ignore the issue rather than confront it. The standoff continues as the activists remain determined to push for change through their protest.