German protesters pour oil-like substance onto FDP party headquarters

German climate activists from the Last Generation group poured an oil-like substance into the entrance of the headquarters of the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) in Berlin on Thursday morning.

The FDP is the smallest party in Germany’s three-way coalition, alongside the Green Party and Social Democrats (SPD).

The activists dumped several buckets of the substance onto the doors and parts of the façade on Thursday morning then put up several posters that slammed the party for its support of diesel-powered vehicles.

The posters were referring to the FDP’s opposition last month to the European Union’s phasing out of the combustion engine in new cars.

The European Parliament and the member states agreed on the 2035 sales ban in autumn last year, but a meeting scheduled for earlier this month for an expected confirmation of the ban was postponed as a result of German opposition.

The opposition was led by the FDP, of which Transport Minister Volker Wissing is a member.

The climate activists have carried out similar protests at other Berlin locations including at buildings belonging to Coca Cola and chemicals company BASF.

The Last Generation cooperated with the group Extinction Rebellion, the reporters said.

Last month, members of the Last Generation likewise dumped a liquid, also similar to oil, on the Basic Law Monument near the Reichstag parliament building in Berlin, triggering nationwide criticism.

However, no lasting damage was done and the monument was soon cleaned up.

Meanwhile the Fridays for Future movement recently distanced itself from the activities of Last Generation activists. “The climate crisis needs solutions for society as a whole, and we can only find and fight for them together, not by turning people against each other in everyday life,” spokesperson Annika Rittmann told dpa.