EThe four demonstrators in the underpass in the center of Warsaw seem a bit perplexed: Krystian, his sister Katarzyna, Paweł and Grzegorz from the Miechów district in southern Poland. They are not alone. Hundreds of people push forward with national flags and banners still rolled up. Where is the Palace of Culture, please?
The massive building from the Stalinist era will be the backdrop this Tuesday for a “star march” by demonstrators from all over Poland, mainly farmers. Buses were parked in the square in front and several thousand people gathered long before the start. Some farmers are making noise. Firecrackers crack deafeningly, strong men take a deep breath and blow their bright red horns. For this purpose, Bengali fire is lit, as is part of Polish demo folklore. Apparently there is no violence.
Farmers in Poland have been protesting for months. Initially it was against duty-free and allegedly “uncontrolled” agricultural imports from Ukraine, and in recent weeks also against the European Union’s “Green Deal”. Krystian, 30 years old, married with two children, took over his father's farm eleven years ago. At that time there were 30 hectares, today he already manages a hundred. He has already demonstrated in his home region, and now he has come to Warsaw because of it.
Krystian doesn't mince his words when he considers whether the main reason for his dissatisfaction is the EU or Ukraine. “Both,” he says. Above all, it is probably the prices that make life difficult for him. “Before the war (in Ukraine) we sold good wheat for 900 złoty (equivalent to 210 euros). Now the purchase price is 580 złoty.” The other side is the expenses: “Before the war, nitrogen fertilizer cost 900 złoty, now it is 1,800. A lot of things have become significantly more expensive: pesticides, fuel, all sorts of things. And taxes for farmers have been increased this year.”
A farmer leader is now state secretary
Is the tax issue still the fault of the old, national-conservative government or the new, liberal government that has been in office since December? Krystian looks at his sister questioningly, Katarzyna looks back, perplexed. They only know one thing: “We don’t want to comment on politics. We always vote, but we don’t say anything about it.”
Of course you can relate to the name Michał Kołodziejczak. The 35-year-old farmer and former local politician has made a name for himself in recent years as a radical farmer leader. When Poland's farmers were in trouble, he took up the issue and organized road blockades. You could often hear populist slogans from him. The picture changed before the parliamentary elections in the fall. Kołodziejczak sought political connections in order to win at least a few parliamentary seats with his “Agrounion”. The five percent threshold was out of reach, but opposition leader Donald Tusk, the current head of government, surprisingly offered him a few places on the list. He is now a member of parliament and state secretary for agriculture.
When asked whether he manages to appease dissatisfied farmers, explain government policy to them or even represent their interests, the demonstrators look at each other and grin. Then Paweł says: “I think Kołodziejczak knows, above all, how to get money.” His transformation from farmer activist to established member of the government apparently also arouses mistrust.
Krystian doesn't seem like an opponent of the EU. But Brussels' climate and agricultural policy is constantly burdening farmers with new tasks. As an example, he cites the recently suspended policy of leaving a small portion of land fallow. “We have good land and are not allowed to cultivate it.” In addition, product certification, registers and training required “a lot of paperwork”. You often have to put in more than you get from the EU. The farmer says that the Community's measure to liberalize agricultural trade in solidarity with Ukraine has brought goods into the country that do not meet EU standards and has depressed prices.
A German farmer representative also speaks
Another young demonstrator, Kacper, a small farmer from the Lublin area, said he spent two nights at the weekend at the border crossing near Dorohusk that was blocked by farmers. “I saw the tracks where protesters were dumping rapeseed from two Ukrainian train cars. But later there were a lot of police and railway police on duty and they no longer let anyone through to the tracks.”
It's not just farmers who are on the streets in Warsaw on Tuesday. Beekeepers in their protective clothing are also out and about with banners. It says “Stop the import of honey,” a demand that is primarily directed against Ukraine. In addition, hunters dressed in green like Grzegorz, who opposes the “eco-terror” of environmentalists, the uncontrolled growth of the wolf population and a regulation by the PiS government that forbade taking minors on hunts. “Parents know what’s good for their children, don’t they?”
A German farmer representative also speaks in front of the Culture Palace. “I would like to express our thanks to you,” he calls into the microphone. “You are blocking the border with Ukraine for us too.” He criticizes the fact that since 2022 Ukrainian grain was supposed to continue to reach the Third World through Poland, but then it got stuck in the EU and ruined our prices.”
The protests are expected to continue for weeks, although it is unclear to what extent the farmers will be able to mobilize other professional groups in the long term. Poland's peasantry is numerous and self-confident. Politicians treat them with kid gloves. Tusk said on Tuesday that they wanted to help Ukraine, but not with methods that “are murderous for entire sectors of the economy.” Parliament President Szymon Hołownia received demonstrators and promised a “round table”.
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