Last week, German farmers set fire to tractors and trucks in protest against their government’s proposals for subsidy cuts in agriculture. Their columns have gathered on roads in almost all of the 16 German states. They blocked roads and motorways, including several border crossings to France. They also stuck in the wheel for companies, including Volkswagen, which had to stop production in a factory, according to Reuters. The well-known Brandenburg Gate is packed with protesters on Monday morning. Photo: Liesa Johannssen / Reuters It is expected that the protests will reach new heights on Monday. A crowd of over 10,000 people – and their tractors – are on their way to the capital, writes CNN. The government has already dropped some of the planned cuts. But the agricultural organization DBV demands that all the changes be scrapped. – The protests are not just about the subsidy cut, it is about so much more, says the German farmer Isabelle Hielscher (26) to news. German farmer Isabelle Hielscher protests against subsidy cuts in Germany on January 9. Photo: Privat The young farmer grew up on a farm between Cologne and Düsseldorf, and has been a cow farmer since 2019. She believes the government has introduced several laws and restrictions that make it more difficult to be a farmer in Germany. – We have to do more and more, but for less money, says Hielscher. Economic predicament – The farmers are simply pissed off, says Kate Hansen Bundt. She is a political scientist and general secretary of the Norwegian Atlantic Committee. – It has become more expensive to be a farmer. Combined with the fact that rising energy prices, interest rates and high inflation have made it generally more expensive to live in Germany, as in several other European countries, says Bundt. Their government is in a difficult position, says Bundt. – After two years of pandemic, followed by two years of war in Ukraine. The Germans have also noticed the expensive times and broken expectations for the future. There is general dissatisfaction with the current government of Olaf Scholz. They have lost a lot of support. At the same time, there is division within the German three-party government. The Free Democrats (FDP) want a more balanced budget. But the Greens and Social Democrats (SPD) have several costly core issues, such as climate and social policy. Kate Hansen Bundt Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB scanpix A judgment from the German Supreme Court also created a budget hole of 60 billion euros. Because the government was not allowed to reallocate funds from a corona loan to various environmental protection programmes. – This naturally leads to cuts elsewhere. Germany is also the European country that has supported Ukraine the most since the war broke out. The country has the largest economy in Europe, but is the only one that is currently in a period of recession, says Bundt. Gets support from far-right Several far-right activists and people from other political movements have already stood behind the protests. The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has expressed solidarity with the farmers. They have also made verbal attacks against the current government. Among other things, the leader of the party in the state of Thuringia, Björn Höcke, has encouraged citizens to participate in the protests. And this despite the fact that the ADF in its own party program advocates the abolition of subsidies to farmers, writes Deutche Welle. Bavarian Economy Minister Hubert Aiwanger pictured with a rake in his hand in Munich on January 8. Photo: REUTERS/Leo Simon / NTB Several ministers fear that the agricultural protests could be exploited by right-wing extremists. Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck is among those who have warned the farmers. The young farmer Hielscher says she and the farmers she protests with completely distance themselves from the far-right activists. – All the farmers have posters on their tractors that say that agriculture is colourful, not brown, which is the color of the outer-right part. It is very important to distance yourself from those people, because we do not persuade with aggression, but with argument, says Hielscher. Taking advantage of discontent In the autumn, there are three important state elections in states where the AfD is doing very well in the polls. Syn og Segn editor Astrid Sverresdatter Dypvik has written several books about German politics. She believes the AfD is exploiting the frustration of the farmers to gain more support. – They spread the feeling that the government is not achieving what is important to them. And they stand out as an important movement, in that they are present in the cases that arouse commitment. Tractors lined up in Munich on 8 January. Photo: REUTERS/Leo Simon / NTB The farmer Hielscher says she does not feel that the farmers are taken seriously. – Some politicians have made short speeches, but our Chancellor Olaf Scholz says nothing. It’s like a slap in the face, says the 26-year-old. Dypvik says the party has similarly been visible in protests against increased energy prices. And believe that this strategy has worked. In German polls, the doctor party has jammed over 20 percent since the summer. – Could it be that they are actually concerned with the interests of the farmers? – You can never give the far right just one agenda. They themselves probably have a poorly worked-out agricultural policy. But they do not want farmers to have “green” requirements. According to Dypvik, it is not only criticism of the government that motivates the party. – The Minister of Agriculture, Cem Özdemir, is from a Turkish family and comes from the Green party. That makes him a clear object of hatred for them. Using him as a target is a point of its own for the far right.
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Protest against the Scholz government’s subsidy cuts – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
