Frost in the fields, time for action: thousands of farmers are still fighting to receive government support. Many people can understand that. But more days of protest are coming.
In Ellwangen, Baden-Württemberg, Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) loudly felt the discontent of farmers in the Ostalb district. Speakers in and outside the town hall emphasized that trust in politics had been lost.
Özdemir first spoke to more than 700 participants at a farmers’ rally in the city hall. Then the crowd outside City Hall asked him to answer questions outside. Özdemir complied. His words were always accompanied by boos and whistles.
Özdemir emphasized that he does not agree with the planned subsidy cuts for farmers. However, he was not included as a specialist minister. “If this had been the case, the decisions would not have been made,” said Özdemir. In the future, something like this should not be decided at the green table. The professional association must also be involved.
Reason for the anger
As part of savings in the 2024 federal budget, the preferential treatment for agricultural diesel is to be gradually abolished. So far, companies have been able to get a partial refund of the energy tax – with a reimbursement of 21.48 cents per liter. Originally, the traffic light coalition wanted to cancel the aid completely immediately. Now there will be a phase-out over three years.
The federal government had already withdrawn a planned deletion of the vehicle tax exemption for farmers last week. Özdemir said that was what he was committed to. “It’s not nothing.” But he cannot be held responsible for all the political mistakes of the past decades.
Özdemir took part in a citizens’ rally in the town hall in Ellwangen at the end of the traditional cold market. According to the police, there were around 600 tractors as well as 2,500 farmers and interested parties on the street along the town hall.
That’s what the farmers’ association says
In the end, the state farmers’ association was not satisfied with the Federal Minister of Agriculture’s performance. “In his speech today, Mr. Özdemir left completely open what he believes sustainable agriculture can look like and how it can be actively shaped,” said Jürgen Maurer, Vice President of the State Farmers’ Association in Baden-Württemberg, after the event.
Young farmers asked the minister exactly this question. “The youth have given politics a clear mandate. Mr. Özdemir must ensure that we as future farmers have a perspective on our farms in the country.”
The population understands farmers
Blocked motorway entrances, rallies and rallies: the farmers’ protests continue. Despite traffic restrictions, according to a survey, most people understand the farmers.
In a representative survey by the Yougov Institute for the German Press Agency, 45 percent said they considered the actions to be completely justified. Another 27 percent see the protests as “somewhat justified.” Around one in five respondents does not agree with it or does not agree at all.
According to another Yougov survey on Monday alone, almost one in five respondents was “affected in terms of transport by the farmers’ protests” on January 8th. There have been no major supply bottlenecks to date.
Promotion week until Monday
The highlight of the week of action is scheduled to be a demonstration in Berlin on Monday (January 15th). Protests are scheduled again this Thursday, for example in Frankfurt am Main, Hanover and Karlsruhe. On Wednesday there were large rallies with numerous tractors in Dresden and Augsburg, for example. According to the port company, in Bremerhaven farmers blocked access roads and thus the operation of the container terminal. In several places in Germany, farmers again temporarily blocked motorway entrances.
Özdemir warns of division
Özdemir told the newspapers of the Funke media group: “People in the countryside have the feeling of being left behind.” They worried that they would be left out in a politics increasingly dominated by city dwellers. “This is a dangerous divide that can lead to conditions like those in the USA: people no longer talk to each other, people no longer believe each other and accuse each other of all the evil in the world.”
Farmers President Joachim Rukwied appeared in the ZDF “Morgenmagazin” to be satisfied with the actions so far, which the Land Creates Connection initiative had also called for in many places. “The protests went well, went well, we kept the emergency lanes clear,” said Rukwied. He called the federal government’s previous concessions a lazy compromise. The farmers reserved the right to take further action after January 15th.
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst suggested a committee similar to the Coal Commission to solve the problem. The federal government should convene a commission with all relevant stakeholders on the future of agriculture, said the CDU politician to the “Rheinische Post” (Wednesday). The chairwoman of the “Wirtschaftsweise”, Monika Schnitzer, supported planned cuts for farmers and other groups in the 2024 federal budget. “Many are calling for subsidy reductions, but no one voluntarily raises their hand to offer cuts to themselves,” the economist told the paper.
Source: Stern
