Peasants on the warpath in Germany. The farmers' uprising against the government begins today, with tractors marching on Berlin and other cities. The protest, which will last until January 15, aims to block the country by clogging highways. There is so much trouble in a sector that accounted for 0.8% of GDP in 2021, according to the latest data from the Federal Statistical Office (Stba). The mobilization of the agricultural sector is just the latest crack in an increasingly unstable Germany, both economically and politically.
Farmers are protesting against subsidy cuts that are part of the government's austerity plan. After the budget crisis, Germany must reduce public spending. Finance Minister Christian Lindner's scissors have not spared agriculture either, with the reduction in diesel subsidies and the abolition of the exemption of agricultural vehicles from vehicle tax. After the first farmers' protests, which immediately became heated, the government partially withdrew. Farm vehicles will continue to be exempt from vehicle tax and diesel subsidies will be phased out by 2026. That's not enough for the supporters of the protest: Agriculture must not be affected and everything must remain as it was, otherwise the industry is at risk of dying. Meanwhile, the tension rises. The Minister of Economics and Climate Protection Robert Habeck was the protagonist of this escalation. On the evening of January 4th, around a hundred farmers tried to break into the ferry with the Green representative who was returning to Schlüttsiel from a private visit to the Hallig Hooge. Due to the extremely tense situation, the ship had to reverse course and Habeck was only able to disembark in Schlüttsiel that night. The attack on the ferry with the government representative on board was sharply and unanimously condemned by Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The German Farmers' Association (DBV) itself distanced itself on the grounds that personal attacks, radicalism and violence delegitimize the protest. However, the situation remains tense as farmers demand the government's fall. A manager with whom, according to a survey, 46 percent of Germans are completely dissatisfied. Chancellor Olaf Scholz witnessed this feeling when he was challenged on January 4th during his visit to the population affected by the storm in Oberröblingen. The head of the Federal Executive Board was greeted with shouts of “traitor,” “criminal” and “liar.”
As popular anger grows, extremism spreads. Today, former post-communist MP Sahra Wagenknecht will announce the founding of her own radical left-wing party, over which the shadow of the Kremlin lies. On the right, the ultra-conservative Hans-Georg Maaßen, head of the secret service from 2012 until his dismissal in 2018, has stated that he intends to build his own political force that is willing to work with both Wagenknecht and the national conservatives Alternative to work together for Germany (AfD). Even with temperatures below zero, the German winter promises to be very warm.