Several thousand people demonstrated on Saturday in Erding, northeast of Munich, against the heating law planned by the federal government. Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) used the rally as one of the main speakers to attack the traffic light parties – however, he was violently booed at the beginning of his speech, apparently by AfD supporters, among others. “The bourgeois center has nothing to do with AfD, has nothing to do with anti-democrats,” Söder called out to them.
The cabaret artist Monika Gruber, who helped organize the rally and was apparently responsible for the large number of visitors, had to ask for silence several times at the beginning. You say yes to climate protection, “but no to this heating law,” said Söder. Climate protection must be promoted together with the citizens and not against them. The CSU leader repeatedly attacked the Greens in particular, he strictly opposed an alleged “compulsive veganization” and “compulsive gendering”.
Cabaret artist Monika Gruber had co-organized the demo – and apparently attracted many people.
(Photo: Stephan Görlich)
Several thousand people took part in the demonstration.
(Photo: Stephan Görlich)
The participants also seemed to be concerned with a much broader field than the alleged “heating ideology” formulated by the organizers. In addition to signs criticizing the “climate rip-off”, the federal government and especially the Greens, the demonstrators also hold up posters with completely different demands: “Get out of the WHO”, for example, it says “peace”, “Our country first” or “You don’t force us to do anything”.
According to the police, 13,000 people took part in the rally. Bavaria’s Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (free voters) and FDP head of state Martin Hagen also spoke as speakers. In addition, several associations support the rally. The AfD also wanted to send a speaker, but according to their own statements, this was denied – now they invited parallel to their own small rally in the immediate vicinity.
With the Building Energy Act next year, the Federal Government intends to finally herald the departure from oil and gas heating systems. According to the traffic light bill, from 2024 every newly installed heating system should be operated with 65 percent renewable energy. State funding is intended to cushion the switch socially, and there should also be transitional periods and hardship regulations.
The heating law is still controversial within the coalition. The FDP is still demanding fundamental improvements to the draft law that has already been passed by the federal cabinet. According to government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit on Friday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) expects a quick solution and the bill to be introduced in the Bundestag in the coming week.