The farmers are protesting, especially against the Greens. At the same time, Cem Özdemir is fighting for her industry: the minister is experiencing crucial weeks.
Munich – On December 13th, Cem Özdemir (Alliance 90/The Greens) will be in question time in the Bundestag. The responsible minister is asked by the opposition what the cuts to farmers are all about. The first details became public in the morning. The minister acts as if he only knows this federal government led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz from afar.
Özdemir asserts that he has always said that agricultural diesel subsidies and vehicle tax exemptions for agriculture and forestry are urgently needed. “If both disappear together, then we will have a problem.” He is now “very excited” about the proposals from the Federal Ministry of Finance. And when his speaking time ends, he adds hectically: “The topic of agricultural diesel I didn’t negotiate!”
The agriculture minister and agricultural policy – these days it doesn't always seem to go hand in hand. Özdemir had not sought this office, but rather had his sights set on the Foreign Ministry. The farmers were by no means foreign to the 58-year-old from rural Bad Urach, but politically he had only touched on the topic in passing. His first year in office went accordingly. Silent – which was actually a positive thing given the traffic light’s reputation. But now he is unexpectedly coming into the spotlight.
Agriculture minister and agricultural policy: It's not easy for Cem Özdemir to combine the two these days
The Green group says that the minister was upset about the austerity plans. The closest circle – Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Economics Minister Robert Habeck – would have decided on the cuts without involving the minister. The driving force was the Federal Chancellor. Özdemir made no secret of his anger. Just five days after the government survey, hundreds of angry farmers stood at the Brandenburg Gate for the first time shortly before Christmas. Özdemir is also there.
“I’m not going to slim my feet,” he shouts to the angry farmers. But he stands a little like a watered poodle next to farmers' president Rukwied, who castigates the planned cuts as a declaration of war on the farmers. “I know that you warned against such cuts from the start,” Rukwied admits to the minister. But that's not enough. Rukwied grabs Özdemir for the honor: “In an emergency, we also expect you to make your office available.”
The government has since rolled back at least some of the cuts. The Greens see this as their achievement. Also the minister. The topic concerns him, also with regard to his own life planning. Many in the party assume that the Swabian German-Turk will try to succeed Winfried Kretschmann, who is also popular with conservatives, in Baden-Württemberg by 2026 at the latest.
And of course there are many rural areas in the country where people are closely following his current administration. He wants to show them that he is fighting for them. “I actually think he has finally arrived in office,” says Munich Green MP Dieter Janecek, who has known Özdemir for a long time.
Günther Felßner: “Sometimes I have the feeling that Renate Künast is still Agriculture Minister”
The farmers are looking forward to it some media reports different. Even after two years in office, Özdemir is still
a stranger, says the Bavarian farmers' president Günther Felßner, who is also vice president at the federal level. “He sometimes doesn't understand how the industry works.” From a human perspective, the exchange is extremely pleasant, but too often the minister doesn't have time – especially for farmers who don't agree with him politically.
“Sometimes I have the feeling that Renate Künast is still Agriculture Minister,” says Felßner. To this day, Künast is the personified bogeyman for farmers. Felßner: “Cem Özdemir cannot build his own profile. It seems as if he is using Künast’s old talking notes.”
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