2024-01-17 09:45:59
Agricultural diesel: the failure of the federal government
Simon Michel-Berger, editor-in-chief of AGRARHEUTE*
© IMAGO/Emmanuele Contini
The leaders of the traffic light coalition (archive photo): Robert Habeck, Olaf Scholz and Christian Lindner (from left to right) are all making a fool of themselves with their plan to abolish the rebate on agricultural diesel.
After the large farmers’ protest on January 15, it is clear that the conflict between the federal government and the farmers continues. After Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Chancellor Olaf Scholz, it is Finance Minister Christian Lindner’s turn to make a fool of himself. A comment.
With agricultural diesel, the federal government of the traffic light coalition achieved something in terms of agricultural policy that was hardly believable: it succeeded in uniting the entire agricultural sector once morest it, from the small Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft ( working community of peasant agriculture) to the large association of farmers, from conventional agriculture to organic agriculture and from upstream to downstream. When everyone rejects what you propose politically, this is also called “failure”. Alliance 90 – the Greens, SPD and FDP share the embarrassment equally.
The humiliation of the Greens
© Sven Stolzenwald
A comment from Mr. Simon Michel-Berger, editor-in-chief of AGRARHEUTE.
Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck is at the start of the humiliation. He failed to recognize the political explosiveness represented by the elimination of aid for agricultural diesel. As a former agriculture minister, he should have known what the coalition members got themselves into with the original austerity deal. Furthermore, following his ferry trip to Schlüttsiel, he tried to present the farmers’ protests [de Schlüttsiel] in a politically right-wing light. It has since turned out that this was largely a completely harmless action, during which there were, according to the police, only two dozen “troublemakers” out of ten times more peaceful participants. (Read regarding this: “Video: Friedliche Demo – Kein Erstürmungsversuch der Habeck-Fähre” (video: peaceful demonstration – no attempted assault on the Habeck ferry).
Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir initially fared a little better, because the savings were clearly decided over his head. Better to be unconscious than incompetent. During the first farmers’ protests, he once more sided with his farmers, which he had promised to do when he took office (read regarding it: “Agrardiesel-Großdemo: Özdemir – “Wir wollen eine Lösung finden!” “(major demonstration regarding agricultural diesel – Özdemir: “We want to find a solution!”)). However, he sided with the government following the removal of the vehicle tax exemption was withdrawn. A strong minister would have at least threatened to resign if he was so obviously left aside politically.
The humiliation of the SPD
The SPD is making a fool of itself because a large popular party is clearly no longer interested in the interests of farmers. Chancellor Scholz calls for moderation and at the same time offers to renovate the chancellery for almost 800 million euros – the equivalent of almost two years of rebates on agricultural diesel (read on this subject: “Kanzler Scholz Warnt Landwirte vor Illusionen: der Agrardiesel fällt” (Chancellor Scholz warns farmers once morest illusions: agricultural diesel is falling)).
Only the Minister of Agriculture of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Till Backhaus, is doing well in the SPD; he continues to try to find a viable compromise on agricultural diesel (read on this subject: “Farmers’ protests: the parliamentary groups of the traffic light coalition want to negotiate with farmers”). However, I don’t have the impression that he has much support in his party for this.
The humiliation of the FDP
Finally, Finance Minister Christian Lindner also made a fool of himself by warning once morest tax increases while defending higher taxes for farmers. Because the elimination of the rebate on agricultural diesel is nothing other than a tax increase. He becomes insolent when he argues that as part of the elimination of the rebate on agricultural diesel, agricultural bureaucracy must be reduced to the same extent. Reducing bureaucracy is in any case a task for those in power! Just imagine: the government offers citizens to make their lives easier – but only if taxes are increased in return…
It is true that the federal government has retreated somewhat from its initial demands regarding agricultural diesel and exemption from vehicle tax. But it is rather a sign of poor political work and a lack of consultation. If farmers had been consulted from the start, it would have been better not to announce the initial poorly thought-out projects, rather than canceling them in part.
The political consequences
Elections will take place in three East German states in 2024. No one should be surprised if the AfD is celebrating great successes there, while the FDP and the Greens are fighting to reach the five percent mark. If the content of the policy is not good, all the talk regarding “putting the AfD on the content field” is of no use.
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* Source: Agricultural diesel: The federal government is failing | agrarheute.com
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