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STRIKES

‘We don’t get enough money’: Furious farmers stage Germany-wide tractor blockades

Angry farmers opposed to government's plans to cut tax breaks for agriculture used tractors to block roads across Germany on Monday, kicking off a series of strikes that are set to plunge the country deeper into a winter of discontent.

Published: 8 January 2024 17:09 CET
Farmers from Hesse on Mainzer Straße in Weißbaden with their tractors on Monday.
Farmers from Hesse on Mainzer Straße in Weißbaden with their tractors on Monday. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Arne Dedert

In Berlin, dozens of tractors and lorries stationed in the city centre blasted their horns to signal their anger at the start of a planned week of action.

Workers in sectors across Germany, from metallurgy and transport to education, have turned to industrial action in recent weeks.

Wage negotiations have taken a bitter turn as Europe’s biggest economy struggles with weak growth and households contend with sharply increased prices.

Rail workers will be next to walk out on Wednesday, launching a three-day strike as unions seek a pay rise to compensate for months of painfully high inflation.

“We are exercising our basic right to inform society and the political class that Germany needs a competitive agricultural sector,” German Farmers Association (DBV) president Joachim Rukwied told Stern magazine.

EXPLAINED: Where are farmers blocking traffic around Germany?

“That’s the only way to ensure the supply of high-quality, homegrown food.”

Farmers began gathering on Sunday evening at the Brandenburg Gate landmark in the heart of the government quarter in Berlin.

The sector has been up in arms over government plans to withdraw certain tax breaks for agriculture this year.

“We simply don’t get enough money for what we produce, while we work 365 days a year,” Jenny Zerbin, 34, told AFP in Berlin.

A sign at a farmers' protest in Jemgum, Lower Saxony, on Monday.

A sign at a farmers’ protest in Jemgum, Lower Saxony, on Monday. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Lars Penning

Far-right warning

The farmers’ pleas have won support from the opposition conservatives – and also powerful figures within Scholz’s party.

But as some people at the demonstrations have brandished far-right symbols and slogans, fears have emerged that the far right could exploit the protest movement to drive political cleavages and stoke opposition to democracy.

“Coup fantasies are going around… Nationalist symbols are shown openly,” Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a video responding to Monday’s protest.

He warned the rallies risked being co-opted by the far right.

Around 30 agitated farmers tried to corner Habeck on a ferry on Thursday evening, preventing the minister and other passengers from disembarking.

The incident was widely condemned by government figures for the implicit threat of violence.

READ ALSO: Outrage as farmers try to storm ferry with Vice Chancellor aboard

DBV boss Rukwied on Monday distanced himself from the ferry protest, pinning the blame on fringe elements.

“I see no danger at all of our association being infiltrated (by the far right),” Rukwied said.

However, the protests are being backed by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) and signs in support of the party were displayed at the demonstration in Berlin, such as this sign calling for new elections which was tweeted by the party. 

The government was “driving the whole country to ruins”, the party said on X, formerly Twitter, highlighting the rising cost of living and higher taxes. 

Farm vehicles blocked the centres of cities including Berlin, Hamburg, Cologne and Bremen, with up to 2,000 tractors registered for each protest.

Outside cities, demonstrators targeted motorway access ramps, snarling traffic in a coordinated nationwide show of discontent.

Authorities in the rural northern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania said all its autobahn ramps were impeded.

The protest also caused disruptions at Germany’s borders with France, Poland and the Czech Republic, causing traffic to back up at crossing points, according to local media and German police.

‘Pure anger’

Thousands of protestors had descended on Berlin to protest against the planned subsidy cuts in December, blocking roads and dumping manure on the street.

The rallies prompted the government to partially walk back the reductions on Thursday.

A discount on vehicle tax for agriculture would remain in place, while a diesel subsidy would be phased out over several years instead of being
abolished immediately, the government said.

The agriculture sector, however, said the move did not go far enough and urged Berlin to completely reverse the plans, which were announced after a shock court ruling forced the government to find savings in the budget for 2024.

“We simply can’t continue to do business like this. Agriculture is going to the wall,” said Sebastian Schuman, 34, who works in the sector.

By Sebastien ASH

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POLITICS

Can foreign residents in Germany vote in the European elections?

Hundreds of millions of European citizens are eligible to vote in June's European elections. Germany is of course a founding member of the EU - so which foreign residents can vote?

Published: 7 May 2024 08:59 CEST
Can foreign residents in Germany vote in the European elections?

Europeans around the continent will go to the polls in early June for one of the largest democratic votes in the world – the European Parliament elections.

Although turnout tends to be lower than for national elections, Germany has the largest number of seats up for grabs of any EU country – with 96 seats at stake. German politicians also use the European elections as an indicator for how each of the parties are doing at home.

When to vote

Voting takes place in Germany at local polling stations on Sunday 9th June 2024 – although there are options for voting in advance.

Polling stations will be set up in the same places as for national, state and local elections – usually town halls, leisure centres and other public buildings.

If you’re eligible to vote, your polling station is written on a voter card – or Wahlschein – sent to you in the mail. If voting in person, you must vote at the one specified – which is usually the closest to your registered residence.

Polling stations open at 8:00 am and close at 6:00 pm on the day itself. If you prefer to vote in advance, the Wahlschein will have instructions on how to request a postal ballot – or the address and opening hours of where you can vote early.

However you vote, you’ll typically need to bring your Wahlschein and a piece of ID with you, showing your European nationality.

EXPLAINED: What’s at stake in the European parliamentary elections?

Who can vote? 

All EU citizens legally resident in Germany are eligible to vote in the European elections in Germany. They don’t need to be German to do so.

In fact, European elections work in that EU citizens vote where they live in Europe – not in their country of origin. A Spanish national living in Germany will vote in the European election contest taking place in Germany.

On the flip side, German nationals – including dual nationals – who live in Spain would vote there, not here in Germany.

Members of the European Parliament attend the opening session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on December 12, 2022. (Photo by FREDERICK FLORIN / AFP)

Anyone aged 16 or over can vote in Germany – even if the required age is higher in their home country.

British citizens – who don’t have another EU nationality – used to be able to vote in European elections before Brexit, such as in the 2019 elections. That is not the case this time. Of course, if a Brit living in Germany has since gotten German citizenship, they are eligible to vote.

If you’re a non-German EU citizen and have previously voted in an election in Germany – either local or European – you should still be on the electoral roll.

If not, you will need to register to vote by May 19th. German citizens – including dual nationals – are automatically registered and don’t need to send in registration.

READ ALSO: How to register to vote in the 2024 European elections

How does the election work?

MEPs are elected once every five years, with the most recent election having been in 2019.

Each country is given an allocation of MEPs roughly based on its population size. The European Parliament currently has 705 MEPs. As the most populated country in the EU, Germany has the most seats, while the smallest number belong to Malta with just six.

However, MEPs sit in the European Parliament with their party group – not according to country – and are elected to look out for European interests rather than purely national ones.

MEPs are elected through direct proportional representation via the ‘list’ system, so that parties gain the number of MEPs equivalent to their share of the overall vote. The further down the list a name appears, the less likely that person is to be heading to parliament. Higher ranking politicians tend to be higher up the list.

PODCAST: What makes Berlin’s techno scene so unique and how will Germany vote in EU elections?

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