61-year-old in hospital

Danger to life: activist breaks off climate hunger strike

Michael Winter (61) broke off his hunger strike after 31 days.(Bild: AFP)

A participant in the Berlin climate hunger strike has called off the action due to acute danger to his life. 61-year-old Michael Winter announced on Saturday that he had decided to start eating again after 31 days. He had been in a Munich clinic since Wednesday with heart problems. Doctors had diagnosed a life-threatening state of health. However, other participants in the "Starve until you are honest" campaign want to continue.

According to their own statements, the climate activists want to persuade German Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to issue a government statement on the excessive concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the urgency of changing course. According to a government spokesperson, Scholz does not want to meet the protesters' demands.

"My life is sufficiently at risk"
Winter explained: "My personal conclusion is that I have risked my life enough to conclude that Olaf Scholz would rather accept deaths than tell people the truth about the climate catastrophe." He said he would now rather take responsibility for his family than "pay the ultimate price for the common good".

The activists on hunger strike in Berlin(Bild: AFP)

(Bild: AFP)

Activist Wolfgang Metzeler-Kick, who has not eaten any solid food since March 7, but only juices, electrolytes and vitamins, wants to continue his hunger strike. He explained: "I don't want to die. But I am prepared to put my life on the line so that the population can learn the truth about the dramatic nature of the climate catastrophe. Whether through my death or through a government statement by the Chancellor, I leave that in the hands of Olaf Scholz."

According to the "Starve until you are honest" campaign, four other people are on hunger strike alongside Metzeler-Kick. They are living in a camp near the Federal Ministry of Economics in Berlin.