“General strike”: How the right-wing scene wants to hijack the farmers’ protests

analysis

Angry screams and shouts echoed through the dark harbor of Schlüttsiel on Thursday evening. Dozens of farmers blocked a ferry with which Economics Minister Robert Habeck from Hallig Hooge wanted to dock again in North Frisia. There were riots and scuffles, and the police were only able to prevent the mob from storming the ship with difficulty – they even used pepper spray. The ferry with Habeck as a passenger had to leave again. The angry farmers celebrated their “triumph” with New Year’s Eve fireworks.

There has never been such an aggressive protest against the subsidy cuts for farmers. But the truth is also: Ever since the German Farmers’ Association (DBV) called for a “week of action” against the government’s austerity measures, right-wing and right-wing extremist groups have formed to exploit the protest for their own benefit and further inflame the angry mood of some farmers.

From January 8th, farmers across Germany want to block motorways and federal highways to demonstrate against the subsidy cuts for agricultural diesel. At the same time, the train drivers’ union GDL also wants to strike on rail traffic in order to put Deutsche Bahn under pressure in collective bargaining. Two independent protests that could largely paralyze the country.

From the farmers’ protest to the “general strike” to the coup? Right-wing extremists want to abuse large demonstrations for their own purposes

Some actors seem to be less concerned with the specific austerity plans and more with anger at the government itself. In recent days, images have been made public on social media platforms that fueled the protest with tasteless posters and slogans. For example, gallows could be seen on which traffic lights were hung.

The right-wing scene has recognized the potential of anger and is trying to use it to their advantage. The farmers’ protests and the GDL’s announced rail strike willmixed together to form an explosive mixture. Some people are already whispering about a “general strike”. The “people are rebelling against the traffic light government,” it is said. The fact that the train drivers’ strike has been announced since mid-December and that the farmers’ protests only happen to coincide with the same period is deliberately ignored.

There are numerous posts on platforms like Tiktok or X (formerly Twitter),who rejoice that “millions of people” would take to the streets on Monday. The country’s infrastructure would be paralyzed and people should stock up on food. These are civil war scenarios that are being rolled out here.

The perfidious method of AfD and Co.: contradiction and legitimate protest, which is part of the essence of democracy, is reinterpreted as an uprising in order to give the impression that a large part of the population is ready for civil war out of dissatisfaction with the government. With a view to the DBV’s major rally in a week, various platforms are already fantasizing about storming the Reichstag, in which the citizens will finally “take back the country.” Subversion fantasies – on the backs of the farmers.

DBV emphasizes: “Registered demos and actions: Yes! Senseless blockades and radical actions: No!”

The farmers’ association is trying to show a clear stance and distance itself from the free riders. “Personal attacks, insults, threats, coercion or violence are not acceptable,” said association president Joachim Rukwied. “We are an association that upholds democratic practices.” Despite all the dissatisfaction with the federal tax plans, his association naturally respects the privacy of politicians.

Even before the Schlüttsiel incident, the organization had distanced itself sharply from “imbeciles with fantasies of subversion, radicals and other fringe groups and weirdos who want to hijack our week of action and hijack our protest for their concerns,” said the DBV on X. “Demonstrate? Yes . But we stand for peaceful and democratic protest!”

An announcement that was apparently deliberately overlooked in the right-wing scene. Instead, they conjured up the “end of the traffic lights”. Relevant bloggers and media such as the right-wing “Compact” magazine have spread a revolutionary mood in recent weeks and have put the farmers’ protests on a par with the Kiel sailors’ revolt of 1918, the Monday demonstrations in the GDR or the Peasants’ War of 1524. The legend: The system is at an end, and now all that is needed is large-scale protests to finally overthrow the government.

Lateral thinkers and the AfD are also calling for a “general strike” against the government

The end-time prophets who fuel this mood are usually not unknown. It is noticeable that many actors in the (former) lateral thinker scene are drumming up support for taking to the streets on Monday. The concerns of farmers or train drivers are secondary. As was the case during the corona pandemic, the actors are concerned with the disintegration of the state itself. What was then the alleged control by vaccination is now being replaced by the tax increase on agricultural diesel or the VAT increase in the catering industry. Theses like these are represented by bloggers and podcasters such as Philip Hopf and Horst Lüning, as well as the right-wing extremist and Holocaust denier Nicolai Nerling. All of them have been well-known among right-wingers and lateral thinkers for years.

The agitators use well-known conspiracy stories to support their theses. The government – ​​and especially the Greens – wanted to destroy Germany. The supposed reason for this is also arbitrary here: sometimes it is the planned “population exchange”, sometimes it is the introduction of a “green dictatorship”, sometimes everything comes from the USA and is controlled by large Jewish industrialists in order to subjugate Germany. Spinning meets the worst anti-Semitism.

But it’s not just conspiracy fans, die-hards and lateral thinkers who are mobilizing for what is said to be the “largest demonstration since World War II.” The AfD is also jumping on the bandwagon. For example, according to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution declared: “secured right-wing extremist“ The classified regional association from Thuringia said they wanted to show solidarity because the demonstrations were directed against the “catastrophic policies of the traffic light government.” That’s why they want to be “on site” and are calling for people to join the protests.

The Thuringian AfD does not seem to be bothered by the obvious contradiction to its own party program. It says that the party is clearly “against any subsidies” for farmers and wants to advocate for “more market economy”.