Loud, dangerous and bad for the environment: lighting the lights at the turn of the year seems to be losing popularity in Germany.
Potsdam – In a survey, a majority of Germans spoke out in favor of a ban on firecrackers on New Year’s Eve. In the representative survey conducted by the Insa Consulere Institute on behalf of the Brandenburg consumer advice center, 53 percent of those surveyed voted for a ban, only 39 percent were against.
The consumer advice center explained that New Year’s Eve fireworks were not only discussed controversially because of the corona pandemic, but also because of the risk of injury, environmental and animal protection and currently because of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. “It is now important that politicians decide at an early stage whether the lighting or the sale of fireworks for private firecrackers on New Year’s Eve will be banned this year,” said Christian A. Rumpke, head of the Brandenburg consumer center.
The approval for a ban on private fireworks was slightly higher in western Germany at 54 percent than in the east at 50 percent. There was great support for a ban among voters from the Greens, Left, Union and SPD – on the other hand, 68 percent of AfD supporters voted against a ban on firecrackers. The supporters of the FDP were divided with values of 47 percent for a ban on firecrackers and 45 percent against it. dpa