Before the culmination of their week of action in Berlin on Monday, German farmers can count on strong support from the population. 68 percent of respondents understand the actions that have been going on for days, according to a representative survey by the Elections Research Group for the ZDF’s “Politbarometer”. 30 percent said the protests went too far for them.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) also announced his presence at the major meeting in Berlin on Monday. Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) distances himself from his predecessor.
The majority is against cuts in agriculture
The majority of the population not only shows understanding for the farmers. In the survey published on Friday, 52 percent of respondents also spoke out against possible cuts in the agricultural sector. The survey was conducted among 1,337 people between January 9 and 11.
The farmers’ protests are aimed at the planned subsidy cuts by the federal government. Accordingly, the tax credit for agricultural diesel should be phased out. The fact that the government coalition has withdrawn part of its austerity plans is not enough for the German Farmers’ Association.
Minister continues to defend plans
Özdemir defended the federal government’s plans on Friday. “Of course I know that the farmers say that is not enough. “But I don’t think it’s so much about agricultural diesel,” he said in ZDF’s Morgenmagazin. The problem is that previous governments promised a lot and delivered little. “The cart is so deep in the mud, to put it figuratively, that we all have to work together and not concern ourselves with party politics as much as my predecessor did before,” Özdemir said. Before Özdemir, CDU politician Julia Klöckner was responsible for the agriculture department.
“Measures must disappear”
Farmers also took to the streets in many parts of the country on Friday, and in some cases there were blockades and traffic restrictions. According to police, 5,000 demonstrators with around 2,500 tractors and agricultural machinery gathered in Nuremberg to demonstrate against the federal tax plans. “These measures in Berlin must disappear,” said CSU leader Markus Söder, who expressed solidarity with farmers on the ground. “It is not enough to simply abolish these measures; we actually also need an apology from the federal government,” Söder said.
Sahra Wagenknecht followed the same line on Friday. It is “scandalous that the farmers’ impressive week of protests ends without the chancellor correcting his serious mistake.”
Thousands of farmers expected in Berlin
At the height of the week of action, thousands of farmers are expected in the capital on Monday. About 5,000 tractors and other agricultural machinery from all over Germany are expected to be on their way to the rally at the Brandenburg Gate, as the Potsdam police station announced. Finance Minister Lindner also wants to speak to them. On the sidelines of the event, the leaders of the traffic light factions also want to meet the farmers’ associations.
Source: Krone
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