“I understand you protest“Your job is hard, you guarantee our livelihood and protect the environment,” he said. German Finance Minister Christian Lindnerapostle of austerity, in front of thousands farmers Who booed him and shouted everything at the Brandenburg Gate. “I’m listening to you. But I can’t promise you more state aid than the budget.” 30,000 concentratesin freezing temperatures and in the fight against cold.
The most insistent cry was “Hau ab” (“get out”) in the middle of the panorama of banners hostile to the Government. Any attempt to calm the situation was doomed to failure, as opposing views were known: The countryside demands that peace be maintained. agricultural diesel aid Lindner insisted that he had to make cuts in many areas, from aid to refugees to social assistance.
The rally in front of the symbolic Berlin monument was the last action. a week of protestsThe incident caused thousands of tractor drivers to block the roads from the north to the south of the country. The ‘guest’ who was booed in previous events Minister of Agriculture Yeşil Cem Özdemir. On the final day, the mandate was reserved for Lindner, who was in the coalition between the social democrats, the greens and the chancellor’s liberals. Olaf Scholz represent austerity and defense debt brake.
need for cutting 17 billion euros from 2024 budgetsThe origins of the protests come from the Constitutional Court’s decision blocking 60 billion euros for attacking the debt brake. Lindner, leader of the Liberal Party (FDP), remains committed to this. As tensions rise in the streets and on the streets, the Social Democrats and the Greens are determined to reform this instrument. far right He is trying to take advantage of this discontent.
“You condemn us to savings” death of the field“, While waiting his turn to speak, Lindner had condemned Theresa Schmid, leader of the Young Farmers’ Association. Both Schmid and Joachim Rukwied, president of the German Farmers’ Federation, the largest organization in the sector, called on these people. They gathered to leave to talk to the minister. After all, it was obvious that he was waiting with his nails pulled out. But Lindner was equally booed when he tried to empathize and defend measures to cut spending.
Street pressure and recession
Protests in rural areas have hampered the mobility of millions of German citizens for a week and led to increased criticism of German Chancellor Scholz. lack of leadership. All this is happening at a time when the entire eurozone is worried. Recession in the first economy European Union (EU). one in 2023 0.3% contraction The share of gross domestic product (GDP) – below the minimum of 0.4% predicted so far – was confirmed this Monday by official figures from the federal Ministry of Statistics (Destatis). The main reason for this contraction is energy costs, the decline in consumption due to inflation, which ultimately reached 3.7%, and above all, foreign demand stops. Since Germany is essentially an industrial country, the impact of agriculture on GDP is minimal. However, rural areas provide direct or indirect employment to one in ten workers in the country. Their protests against the phasing out of subsidies implemented decades ago low minimum coalition. The conservative opposition ranks first in voting intentions, followed by the far right. The situation is even more worrying in East Germany, where the radical right is far-right and half of the country is industrialized and agricultural. Alternative for Germany (AfD) It may become the first force in the regional elections to be held in September.
The president of the country himself Frank-Walter Steinmeier – although originally from Scholz’s social democratic ranks, he had left his militancy on hold due to the political neutrality inherent in his position – these days he urged the chancellor to address the concerns of the countryside. Coinciding with the last day of the protests, farmers’ union representatives were called to a meeting with leaders of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Greens and Liberal Party (FDP).