Bavarian Farmers' Protests: Intensifying Opposition to Federal Government's Subsidy Cuts

2024-01-10 20:05:56

Bavaria’s farmers have continued their protests against the federal government’s plans to cut subsidies. There were tractor protests and rallies again in several districts on Wednesday. There were traffic disruptions again in many places.

Farmers drove to Augsburg with around 2,000 tractors to the central meeting in the Bavarian Farmers’ Association’s week of action at the Plärrer folk festival site. According to the police, 3,000 participants were on site. Since there was not enough space in the city center for all the tractors, the police quickly organized alternative parking spaces at the stadium of the Bundesliga soccer team FC Augsburg. Over 150 tractors used the alternative parking option at the WWK Arena. The people in question were taken by shuttle bus to the Plärrer site and then back to the WWK Arena.

“Paralyze the country”: Farmers’ association threatens to intensify protests

The President of the Bavarian Farmers’ Association, Günther Felßner, threatened to intensify the protest. If the federal government does not make further concessions on agricultural diesel, he promised a “January like the country has never experienced before”. There are “lots of ideas about how the country could possibly be paralyzed,” says Felßner BR24.

The farmers’ banners primarily dealt with politics in terms of content. The posters read, for example: “Without German agriculture, no food from Germany”, “If the farmer is ruined, the food is imported”, “Berlin makes more crap than our cattle”. There were hardly any posters showing hate speech or hate speech. However, there was also a stinking finger and a gallows with a traffic light dangling from it. Officials have already said about such messages: “We don’t want to see that here.”

Kaniber criticizes the federal government: No understanding for farmers

From the political side, Bavaria’s Agriculture Minister Michaela Kaniber (CSU), Economics Minister Hubert Aiwanger (Free Voters) and CSU parliamentary group leader Klaus Holetschek were among those present.

The farmers’ anger goes far beyond the planned tax increase, said Kaniber. She accused the traffic light coalition: “The federal government not only lacks an understanding of the situation of companies, it also fails because of its willingness to listen seriously.”

The federal government wants to abolish the agricultural diesel subsidy within three years. The Bavarian state parliament SPD deviates from this line and wants to support family farms more: “We want farmers to continue to receive 21 cents in reimbursement for up to 15,000 liters of diesel per year, and farmers to be confronted with significantly less bureaucracy,” wrote state parliamentary group leader Florian von Brunn on X, formerly Twitter.