Farmers brought Germany to a standstill with Dutch-style tractor protests throughout the country on Monday in response to globalist policies of the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, which they claim threaten the very existence of the agriculture industry.
Farmers groups launched their planned week-long action to protest against the leftist coalition government’s plans to increase taxes on diesel fuel and eliminate the car tax exemption for farmers in addition to making deep cuts on the subsidies for the farming sector.
The proposed tax increases and funding cuts came as the government attempted to fill a 17-billion-euro ($18.6-billion) hole in the budget for 2024. Although the government was willing to seek to raise more money off the backs of German farmers, it was not willing to make any cuts in aid to Ukraine, which is set to double to eight billion euros this year.
Ahead of the planned week of protests from farmers, the government said that it would be willing to walk back some of the farming subsidy cuts and re-organise the tax increases over the next three years. However, the German Farmers’ Association (DBV) said that such moves would be insufficient to stave off the economic disaster facing many farmers throughout the country.
08 January 2024, Hamburg: A participant holds up a poster reading “Traffic light: D = No self-service market” in front of tractors after a rally in the city center as part of the farmers’ association’s week of action. In response to the federal government’s austerity plans, the farmers’ association has called for a week of action with rallies and rallies starting on January 8. It is to culminate in a major demonstration in the capital on January 15. Photo: Marcus Brandt/dpa (Photo by Marcus Brandt/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The nationwide protest on Monday has seen tractors shut down entrances to motorways, bridges, and tunnels in various states across Germany. According to broadcaster NTV, the farmers have closed access points to entire cities in the state of Brandenburg, including the urban area of Brandenburg an der Havel and Cottbus.
In Berlin, police reported that at least 566 tractors, as well as cars, trucks and vans, descended upon the city centre, blocking the Street of June 17th between the Victory Column and the Brandenburg Gate, where a candlelight vigil will be held later in the evening.
Production was also halted at a Volkswagen factory in Emden on Monday, with tractors blocking off access roads around the plant, preventing employees from getting to work.
President of the German Farmer’s Association Joachim Rukwied said that the government was “depriving agriculture of its future viability”. Rukwied said that the combination of rising energy costs — a result of years of green agenda policies combined with the war in Ukraine — and the proposed subsidy cuts and tax hikes would see the average farmer in Germany lose at least a third of their income.
The Farmer’s Association chief went on to dispute the government’s claims that it was short of money, arguing that the bloated government in Berlin has a spending problem rather than an income problem, arguing that the government should seek to make cuts in other areas.
Rukwied went on to say that the “planned tax increases were the last straw” for the farmers, whose businesses are “dying in instalments”.
08 January 2024, Hamburg: Tractors are parked in the city center after a rally as part of the farmers’ association’s week of action. In response to the federal government’s austerity plans, the farmers’ association has called for a week of action with rallies and rallies starting on January 8. It is to culminate in a major demonstration in the capital on January 15. Photo: Marcus Brandt/dpa (Photo by Marcus Brandt/picture alliance via Getty Images)
The Green Party Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck — who was personally protested against by hundreds of farmers last week — has criticised the farmer protest and a government spokesman warned on Friday that supposed “far-right” elements would seek to use the demonstrations for their own benefit, the farmers have gained support elsewhere.
Alexander Dobrindt, the chairman of the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU) in the Bundestag parliament, said that the protests were both legitimate and justified, arguing that they were the inevitable result of the failures of the left-wing government of Olaf Scholz, and declaring: “The farmers have our support for this protest.” The populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) has also backed the protest movement.
BERLIN, GERMANY – JANUARY 08: An Ariel view of German farmers kicked off a week of nationwide protests on Monday by blocking roads with tractors in response to plans to phase out farm subsidies as the coalition government scrambles to fix its finances on January 08, 2024 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Omer Sercan Karkus/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The farmer protests in Germany follow the example set by their counterparts in the Netherlands, who staged a similar rebellion against the Great Reset-style agenda of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who sought to shut down thousands of farms in order to comply with the European Union’s green agenda.
The large-scale movement in the Netherlands translated into political success, with the party associated with the protests, the BoerBurgerBeweging (Farmer-Citizen Movement), becoming the largest regional party and the largest power in the Senate after last spring’s regional elections. The party is currently in negotiations with populist leader and expected next prime minister Geert Wilders to enter into a coalition government.