The images from August 2018 spread around the world: A girl wearing an oversized yellow rain jacket in ponytails sits in front of the parliament in Stockholm. Next to it was possibly the most famous plywood sign of all time: “School Strike for Climate”, with the words “School Strike for Climate” written in black.
That girl was Greta Thunberg, then 15 years old and at the beginning of her career in a way that had never been seen before. The young Swede, who skipped class every Friday because of her strong faith, was henceforth to be a part of world political events. “Fridays for Future” was born, the young people’s climate movement that was to conquer the world. Thunberg became a darling of the mainstream media, with her meetings with world leaders being publicized. Today with Barack Obama, tomorrow with Angela Merkel, between the Pope or Leonardo DiCaprio. The rise of the girl from an artist’s household who, according to her own biography and due to Asperger syndrome, was said to have had a rough childhood without friends, seemed meteoric and unstoppable.
But as the number of fans and disciples increased, so did the number of critics. Especially when Sweden got particularly weird. Like 2018,. At that time he predicted the end of the world – eXXpress reported. When this prediction of June 21, 2023 naturally did not come true, Sweden became a laughing stock around the world on social media.
When Thunberg, aged 16, asked delegates at the 2019 UN climate summit in New York with a solemn expression: “How dare you?” (“How dare you”), she was eventually transformed into a superstar. The praise grew so much that he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Thousands of people came to his performance and celebrities were standing in queue behind.
But that is over. Greta Thunberg has fallen out of favor with her followers. “Fridays for Future” is now divided, with convinced activists like German Luisa Neubauer (27) distancing themselves from the 20-year-old Swede, who has become increasingly radicalized. The former front woman is hardly considered socially acceptable anymore, as her radical anti-Israel position first attracted public attention during the current Middle East conflict.
The darling of the media and conscious society has become a leftist anti-Semite who clearly favors the Palestinians. Be it with “Stand with Gaza” signs or with provocative black and white Palestinian scarves at a rally in Amsterdam, where they chanted the slogan: “No climate justice on the occupied lands”.
Thunberg is increasingly combining climate concerns with the Middle East issue. Which doesn’t sit well with longtime supporters of “Fridays for Future.” Many activists feel abused by the former woman, others have declared their independence from Sweden. But the worst accusation: While the fallen climate icon constantly emphasizes the suffering of Palestinians, she makes no mention of the victims of murder and rape on the Israeli side. Recently, German Green Party leader Ricarda Lange was also shocked: “Thunberg’s performance was absolutely indecent,” said the top politician, who is very close to the climate movement.
