The German government's popularity is at rock bottom. Demonstrators have threatened to block the highways leading to Berlin with tractors on Monday.
Berlin
Sight it's like two realities are parked side by side. On Berlin's historic Straße des 17. Juni, a couple of hundred tractors brought from the countryside to the capital stand in a queue.
The protesting farmers warm themselves by the field stoves set up between the tractors. Some have spent the night at the demonstration site for days.
The modern symbols of the urban lifestyle sweep past: box bikes and electric scooters. Berlin runners dressed in technical gear stop to read protest signs hanging from tractors.
“Without us, you would be hungry, naked and sober,” one reads.
Monday is the main day of a week-long protest: farmers aim to paralyze traffic in the German capital. Thousands of tractors and demonstrators are expected at the major protest.
Frerk Arfsten, who raises beef cattle, is one of the organizers of the protest.
The protests reflect wider discontent. It's not only farmers who are angry: according to a recent survey, Germans are rarely dissatisfied Chancellor By Olaf Scholz to the government.
I protested organizer Frerk Arfsten shivering from the cold next to the tractor line. Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate can be seen in the background.
You can't bring a demonstration more central than this in Berlin.
Officially, the farmers are protesting that the German government is cutting subsidies to farmers related to diesel costs. The savings are connected budget crisis.
Arfsten says plans to end diesel subsidies to farmers are the main reason for the protest, but by no means the only one.
He runs a farm in the state of Saxony-Anhalt where he raises beef cattle. According to Arfsten, the concern concerns the future of the entire industry.
There is no more credit for the government, even though it has canceled some of the planned subsidy cuts. Cutting the diesel support “was just the last straw that broke the bank,” says Arfsten.
According to the protestors' sign, there is a shortage of skilled labor only in politics.
Farmers from the state of Brandenburg warmed up in the middle of a line of tractors. They did not want to talk to the media, but agreed to be photographed.
Beginning year 2024 has been scary for the German government.
According to a recent poll, 76 percent of Germans are dissatisfied with the government. 17 percent are satisfied, which is the weakest result during the entire government period.
In addition to farmers, doctors' offices and locomotive drivers have recently protested in Germany.
Protest parties on the extreme right and left are increasing their popularity. The partly far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) is more popular in opinion polls than any of the three governing parties – the Social Democrats, the Greens or the Liberals.
Last week, the investigative journalism publication Correctiv revealed, that members of the AfD were involved in a meeting where it was planned to deport millions of German citizens practically on the basis of ethnic background. Revelation added demands are denied by the entire party as anti-democratic.
A charismatic left-wing populist Sahra Wagenknecht according to polls, the new party has at least 15 percent support potential. AfD and Wagenknecht have in common that they criticize Germany's support for Ukraine and would revive trade with Russia.
Chancellor Scholz warned on Saturday published in a video message about the radicalization of the protest and called for farmers to be ready for a compromise.
Farmers general dissatisfaction echoes in the demonstration. Supporting Ukraine is irritating in a situation where inflation is raising prices and the German economy is declining.
According to Arfsten, the organizer of the protest, the entry of Ukrainian grain into the market has already affected prices. He says that Ukraine joining the EU would destroy the agricultural support structure of the Union.
“And Ukraine is a country at war. Why should it be accepted as a member?”
The nine-year-old son Ben handed out chocolates to the protesters and the police officers who were monitoring the order. He had arrived to support the protest with his mother.
Enrico and Kathrin Seeling support the farmers' protest. In their opinion, the German government is to blame for the general discontent.
Kathryn and Enrico Seeling are on a Sunday walk next to the tractor line. They have brought a three-year-old Noah-his son to watch the protest mainly because of the machines brought there.
Kathrin Seeling is giving her support to farmers – despite the threat to block the highways leading to Berlin with tractors on Monday.
The couple share the view that the farmers' protest is just one symptom of a wider dissatisfaction with politics.
“Many do not feel that they are heard or seen. The government does not explain its policy enough,” says Kathrin Seeling.
Enrico Seeling raises, for example, the green transition. In his opinion, for example, the government tried to force air source heat pumps into German homes without sufficient justification and understanding of what it costs. Air source heat pumps are used to reduce dependence on gas.
“People should be involved better and explain why changes are needed,” says Enrico Seeling.
According to Enrico Seeling, the German government has not been able to convincingly justify support for Ukraine. From him, it is impossible for an “ordinary little person” to know who is the real culprit of the war in Ukraine.
“Those who support Russia have a different view of the events. Who knows what the ultimate truth is?”
Protest tractors a blue tent has been set up in between. For a martini the man introducing himself is preparing breakfast for himself. The voice is hoarse from sleeping outside.
The man posing as Martin is part of the farmers' protest. He states that he represents himself with his opinions about the illegality of the German government, not the entire movement.
He says that he already protested against the government during the Corona period.
In Martin's opinion, the German government is not legitimate. He refers to the December decision of the Constitutional Court, according to which the September 2021 elections will be held again in some of Berlin's districts.
The protester talks about the election in a way that brings to mind Donald Trump's talk of stealing elections. He changes the language from German to English.
“New elections right now!” Martin says.
New elections now.
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