As angry farmers protest agricultural subsidy cuts and regulations, thousands of tractors and trucks have gathered in Berlin. After a week of protests across Germany, including the blockade of motorway on-ramps, organizers expect 10,000 people to attend Monday’s rally. Dissatisfaction in German society has fueled the protests.
The current government in Germany, led by the center-left coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens, and the neoliberal Free Democrats (FDP), is facing a crisis as the country faces a budget hole and price hikes for energy and food. This has led to a growing sense of anger among farmers who are facing subsidy cuts, blocking highways, driving into cities in their tractors, and bringing traffic to a standstill. In northwestern Germany, farmers allegedly supported by far-right extremists attempted to storm a ferry on which Economy Minister and Vice-Chancellor Robert Habeck was returning from a vacation.
In 2016, the Germans appeared to be the least receptive to populist policies, according to a YouGov survey of European Union states. However, things seem to have changed. Political journalist Albrecht von Lucke sees trends towards social division and dissolution in Germany, with people shifting to the fringes of the political spectrum. He believes that if this dispute is no longer accompanied by a willingness to reach compromises, democracy is eroded, and positions drift more and more to the fringes.
Political analyst Ursula Münch, Director of the Academy for Political Education in Tutzing, does not see it quite as dramatically, but she sees that the fringes of society are growing, referring to those who express strong discontent and carry out protests like the farmers and the train drivers’ union. Both groups of protesters have the power to paralyze large parts of the country.
Many view the fossil fuel phase-out as state intrusion, as farmers often say they cannot deal with the pace of reform and new regulations in environmental and animal protection. Smaller farms, in particular, say they are being given too little time to adapt to EU policy changes. When the news emerged in 2023 that the government was planning to phase out fossil fuel heatings quickly, this prompted a big public outcry. However, the coalition parties all declined in the polls.
The far-right Alternative for Germany party (AfD) is profiting from all the discontent, with its approval ratings continuing to climb. In the eastern German states of Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg, where state elections are taking place in September, it is polling as the strongest party by far. The AfD is fueling polarization, with some people believing that there is a threat only because a part of the population may be easily instrumentalized.
Journalist von Lucke is expecting 2024 to be a year of protest votes, especially as the problems within the coalition government show no sign of ending. The quarrels will continue, frustration will grow in the country, and we will be faced with protest votes.
