Farmers have been demonstrating in a nationwide week of action since Monday morning. The protests called by the German Farmers’ Association had already been announced. The dissatisfaction was sparked by the savings plans of the traffic light coalition, which, among other things, wants to allow the tax relief for agricultural diesel to expire. The coalition had originally planned further austerity measures, but withdrew them after loud criticism from farmers.
However, this concession was not enough for many – so the week of action began early in the morning as planned. You can see impressions of this here star.de:
Farmers’ protests should not be infiltrated
Politicians from all parties often commented on the announced protests. There were increasing voices, particularly from the federal government, that the compromise reached should be accepted.
The SPD chairwoman Saskia Eskenexplained on Monday on Bayerischer Rundfunk: “I want to ensure that people understand that a compromise has now been found here.”
FDP leader and Finance Minister Christian Lindner also had clear words for farmers at the weekend: “You have lost your way, please turn back.”
In a ten-minute video from Monday morning, Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) said he understood the discontent. There are structural problems in the industry, such as unfair prices or ecological change. However, he appealed to farmers not to allow democratic protests to be hijacked by right-wing extremists: “As a society, we must not give up space to enemies of the constitution.” Nevertheless, imperial flags and other right-wing extremist symbols were seen several times during the protests.
There was more support from the ranks of the opposition. CDU leader Friedrich Merz wrote in an email to subscribers on Saturday that farmers should not allow their legitimate protests to be co-opted. North Rhine-Westphalia’s Prime Minister Hendrik Wüst told ZDF on Monday morning that the additional burdens on diesel were “not peanuts”
In addition to the Left, the AfD also supported the protests, although the party’s basic program calls for the removal of subsidies.
Sources: Parties, X, with information from news agencies
Source: Stern
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