Mass protests by farmers and "gallows" for Scholz's coalition. What is Berlin afraid of?

Screenshot of TASS video The adventurous decisions of the government of Olaf Scholz over the past two years have seriously undermined the German economy. In order to somehow plug holes in the budget, we have to tighten our belts. And Scholz’s office did not find anything better than to save money on farmers - cut benefits and reduce subsidies . However, the patience of German farmers, who had previously suffered due to the energy crisis, seems to have come to an end. Thousands of farmers across the country are protesting, blocking roads, burning bonfires and erecting makeshift gallows, sending a clear message to the ruling coalition.

What provoked the anger of German farmers, why the protesters are labeled as extremists, and where Scholz’s coalition is leading the country - we tell you in the BELTA review. Scholz's shadow funds. What were the results of the German government's tricks? Germany will never be the same. It's worth getting used to. Driven by alien interests, the German authorities cut off Germany from RUSSIA, depriving it of access to cheap Russian energy resources. Thus, the strongest economy in Europe lost its support - the locomotive turned into a broken chair. And Nord Streams, apparently, were blown up for the purpose of securing the result and not allowing Berlin to come to its senses. However, while the German economy was being dragged into the abyss of the energy crisis, Scholz remained surprisingly calm. The fact is that the chancellor had his own magical plan. Although, given that wizards do not exist, this plan can be called pure fraud. During coalition talks in 2021, Scholz proposed the idea of ​​a budget trick to his future partners, the Free Democratic Party and the Greens. As a result, Scholz's coalition created a network of special funds that are not part of the main budget. The Chancellor believed that the government would be able to spend money from these funds without violating the so-called debt brake (a rule that prohibits spending more money from the budget than it receives). And everything would have been fine, at least for some time, if the German Constitutional COURT had not intervened in the situation . Last year, a court banned the government from spending money from special funds. We were talking about 60 billion euros for environmental projects. Initially, these funds were included in the state budget for 2021 and were intended to combat the consequences of the pandemic. However, the government, acting on a well-established scheme, redistributed the money to a new fund. The Constitutional Court ruled that the decision was illegal. As a result, the Scholz government was faced with the problem of a lack of money to finance previously agreed projects. The court decision forced the government to freeze new spending and slow down approval of the 2024 budget.






year. The country was on the verge of a budget crisis.

“Between the lines, the judges of the German Constitutional Court made it clear that the Scholz coalition’s use of shadow funds amounted to accounting fraud. This is the same accounting alchemy for which Berlin reproached Greece a little more than a decade ago,” writes Politico. “Simply put, the Scholz coalition wanted and "To cook porridge without getting burned by the MILK. To do this, she created the appearance of fiscal discipline, but at the same time freely spent money on her ambitious program of action."

We spend on Ukraine, we save on farmers. How did Berlin set its priorities?

Scholz promised to quickly prepare a new action plan. But the only thing the chancellor came up with was austerity measures. German farmers fell under this article.

The German government planned to deprive farms of tax breaks and subsidies for diesel. According to estimates, this measure will save the budget about 900 million euros. If you think about how much Western countries, including Germany, spend on Ukraine, this amount seems paltry. However, for German farmers, benefits and subsidies from the state are vital, especially in the face of rising prices for fuel, electricity and fertilizers.
The Germans were outraged - large-scale protests began in the country. One of the actions took place on December 18 at the Brandenburg Gate, which is considered a symbol of Berlin. As a result, under the onslaught of popular anger and Scholz’s rapidly falling ratings, on January 4 the government announced some concessions. Benefits for farmers will still be cancelled, but not immediately. This will happen in stages and not in full.

Farmers regarded such “generosity” as a mockery. On January 8, protests resumed across the country.

This Monday, January 15, about 10 thousand people came to a protest rally in Berlin. Many trucks and tractors have accumulated in the center of the German capital. The protesters held banners in their hands with the slogans “there is no future without farmers”, “the government resigns”, “if the farmer dies , the country dies”, “the time has come for something to change”...



The HEAD of the German Ministry of Finance, Christian Lindner, came out to the protesters. The official tried to explain why there was no money left in the budget and how much more important it is now to allocate funds for schools and roads than for farmers. "I can't promise you any more federal government assistance," Lindner said.

But while those gathered were still ready to listen about schools, the minister’s words about the need to finance Ukraine aroused fury. The protesters accompanied the speech of the head of the Ministry of Finance with whistling and shouts of “get out!”

But Lindner at least found the courage to go out to the protesters. Scholz is apparently not capable of such feats. Last week, the Chancellor visited the city of Cottbus (federal state of Brandenburg). According to Bild, upon learning of Scholz's arrival, several hundred people demonstrated in support of the farmers. However, the head of government refused to speak to the people.

A few days later, Scholz still received a portion of “people's love.” The chancellor came to cheer for the German team at the European Handball match with the North Macedonian team and was booed by the fans. The German Handball Association later expressed regret over the incident.

"They are taking away our future!" What do farmers say?

German farmers are not only outraged by the reduction in diesel subsidies. They say EU and German policies on which they depend can change at a moment's notice, making long-term planning virtually impossible.

Farmer Philipp Oswald told Euronews that German farmers could do without subsidies. However, for this it is necessary to equalize the requirements for farmers in Germany and other EU countries.

"One might assume that we farmers would prefer to work completely without subsidies. Everyone would like to receive a fair wage for the products they produce. We would like to be able to live, live well, on the income from our labor. However, the reality is that in Germany "We have been following environmental regulations and animal welfare measures for many years. In a global competitive environment, this puts us at a disadvantage because other countries with much lower standards have significantly lower costs," says Oswald.



Correspondents from the German radio station NDR spoke with protesters in Hamburg. Local farmers say austerity measures announced by the federal government are the last straw.

"We are being silenced by laws from all sides, but enough is enough now. They are taking away our future, our prospects. We are here to say: this cannot continue!" - says farmer Torben Lisenberg.

At the same time, according to farmers, the problem is not only the abolition of diesel subsidies and the introduction of a tax on vehicles. "We have much deeper problems in the industry," says Uta von Schmidt-Kühl, chairman of the LSV farmers' association in Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg. In particular, farmers talk about “bureaucratic madness” and the authorities’ desire to burden farmers with new requirements.

“In recent years, more and more laws have been applied to us farmers,” says farmer Otto Rogali. As examples, he cites regulations on the use of fertilizers and animal welfare requirements. The man calls on the authorities to pursue a more reasonable and gentle policy towards farmers. At the same time, he draws attention to the fact that farmer protests do not have political overtones. "We want a peaceful, reasonable, democratic path. We don't want to overthrow the government. We just want to show our authorities that this cannot continue," says the farmer.

Radicalization of protests and the "yellow vests". What are the German authorities afraid of?

Demonstrations by German farmers are peaceful. There are no pogroms, no looting, no clashes with the police, no one is storming administrative buildings. Yes, farmers lit fires to keep warm during rallies, and blocked highways a couple of times. But against the backdrop of protests in France, such actions look almost harmless. Nevertheless, Western media persistently write about the use of protests by right-wing extremists and even about the possibility of overthrowing the German government.

“Members of German far-right groups are trying to take advantage of protests by farmers expressing dissatisfaction with cuts to budget subsidies. Extremist movements have even discussed the possibility of overthrowing the German government... Many warn that more and more extremists are infiltrating the movement of agricultural workers,” reports the BBC.

German authorities did warn that right-wing extremists could infiltrate the ranks of the protesters and try to provoke unrest. This was also stated by the German police. However, these fears have not yet been confirmed.

Nevertheless, BBC journalists decided to conduct their own investigation in order to “build a picture of what is happening - both on the Internet and in real life.”

As a result, journalists did discover “extremists” - on social networks. "There are quite a few posts on German TELEGRAM channels hoping for a mass resistance movement to emerge that will help overthrow the country's government. Small far-right groups such as Free Saxons, Third Way and Rodina are quite marginal and not "have consistently large social media followings. But German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned this weekend that extremists are using social media to undermine civilized democratic debate. He called any talk of uprisings dangerous nonsense," the BBC reported.


As for the participants in the protests themselves, BBC journalists were never able to find and communicate with the radicals. True, symbols of the extreme right were noticed somewhere. Somewhere, journalists saw protesters kicking out one of the protesters, who had taken with him the symbols of the far-right Reichsburger movement. In addition, at one of the rallies the flag of the anti-Semitic peasant movement Landvolkbewegung was seen, the BBC reports. This is where the “physical evidence” of the British news service ends. And then journalists try to find in the demands of the protesters a manifestation of the ideology of extreme right parties.

“Most of the posters we saw at the rallies had nothing to do with far-right slogans, but expressed anger at the way the authorities treat farmers and called for an end to Germany’s traffic light coalition government. Trade unions are demanding the government withdraw plans to end fuel subsidies, which could cost the average German company up to €3,000 a year. Farmers also voice dissatisfaction with what they see as onerous rules and regulations. However, it was very noticeable how often farmers and other demonstrators told us they thought too much money was being sent abroad, which is exactly the kind of slogan that far-right groups often use,” the BBC concluded.

A farmer from the eastern state of Brandenburg named Silvio told reporters that authorities should not spend money on Ukraine to the detriment of Germany. “We can’t spend everything and leave nothing for our own country, for the farmers. Prices have already collapsed, and grain from Ukraine is further undermining our prices,” says the farmer.

Edelgard, a pensioner who came to the demonstration in Cottbus, agrees. “There is money for all the peoples of the world, but not for our own people,” he said.

"Silvio and Edelgard insist that they do not support the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) movement. But AfD members often use a narrative that can be described with the slogan "Germany First". The party has record high ratings and is now ranked second line in the list of the most popular political movements,” writes the BBC.

And yet, journalists managed to find one of the AfD supporters at the protests. It turned out to be an employee of a metallurgical enterprise, Jurgen. The poster the man brought with him reads “The Republic is Dying and the Government is Killing It.” The BBC notes that Jurgen believes radical slogans are justified, and speaks of dissatisfaction with the high cost of living, which is shared by many in the country. According to Jürgen, many demonstrators would support the AfD. "They all want to get rid of the government, that's for sure," he says.

However, it is worth noting that Jurgen is not at all calling for a violent change of power. He does not consider himself a revolutionary and proposes to eliminate the coalition government through elections or “dismiss” it through the courts.

The Air Force had no more arguments. Unless the journalists mentioned that the AfD supports the demands of farmers, and in Germany itself they would like to ban this party. Let us remember that we are talking about the second most popular party in the country.

"There is little evidence so far that the far right has fully brought the farmer protests under control. But it is clear that farm workers are also expressing general dissatisfaction with the situation in Germany over issues such as inflation and globalization, which in turn is fueling political extremists," the BBC summarizes.

In general, it seems that the material is devoted not to an analysis of protests in Germany or even the threat of extremism, but to the German party “Alternative for Germany”. Along with the Austrian Freedom Party, the National Rally in France, the Flemish Interest in Belgium, the Freedom Party in the Netherlands and other right-wing forces in Europe, the German Alternative is ready to sweep away the current liberal elites who are unable to effectively govern the country. This is also understood in European government offices. Hence the flurry of materials in the Western press about the “revolt of populists” and the threat of a “right-wing tsunami.” Now in the West they are trying with all their might to marginalize the “new right” by labeling them extremists. They wanted to attach the same label to German farmers, but they failed to convict the protesters of connections with right-wing forces.

Journalist for the German publication Focus Ulrich Reitz believes that Berlin's statements about the possible radicalization of the protest indicate that the authorities see the real situation and understand how clumsily they are leading the country. The majority of German residents see this too. “The dominant feeling is fear of loss of wealth and resentment at mismanagement and mismanagement,” the journalist describes the mood in German society.

At the same time, the biggest fear that worries the German authorities is the appearance of their “yellow vest” movement in Germany. So far, nothing like this is happening in the country. “Although this, of course, could be expected, given the work of the government,” notes Reitz.

Into the abyss of “multiple crises.” Where is Germany heading?

Of course, Germany is not a country of revolutions. Unlike the French, who are accustomed to venting their anger in the streets, the Germans express their discontent by voting for the AfD.

However, there is a limit to everything. On January 16, the German government announced that in 2024 it plans to allocate more than 7 billion euros for military goods for Ukraine. And this despite

The illogicality in the actions of the German authorities was noticed even in Hungary. The country's Minister of Agriculture Istvan Nagy noted that today German farmers are protesting en masse against the abolition of subsidies and tax breaks. However, Ukraine's accession to the EU, which Germany insists on, will lead to a redistribution of subsidies and their reduction for all other European countries. “It’s surprising that the German Chancellor still considers supporting Ukraine a priority, while farmers in his country face significant problems and food sovereignty is under threat,” the Hungarian minister said, perplexed.

Nagy believes that Ukraine's entry into the European Union will destroy farms in Europe. “European farmers have to produce their products in accordance with strict rules, but in Ukraine , for which the EU wants to open its market, there are no rules to follow,” the minister said.

He also promised that the Hungarian authorities will defend the interests of their farmers.

But who will protect German farmers? And not only farmers. Freight forwarders and artisans have already joined the protest, they are also dissatisfied with government decisions in their industries. It is possible that the number of dissatisfied people will grow. Especially against the background of economic failures.

The country's Federal Statistics Agency reported this week that the economy performed in the red last year. Germany's GDP fell by 0.3% for the first time since 2020. Thus, the country ended the year in recession. At the same time, Germany faced “multiple crises.”



“The overall economic performance in Germany worsened in 2023 in an environment characterized by multiple crises,” Ruth Brand, president of the statistics agency, said at a press conference.

According to her, the economic downturn occurred in an environment of high inflation, rising interest rates and declining demand both domestically and abroad.

There is little hope that Europe's largest economy will catch up this year. Experts predict that if GDP grows, it will be by less than 1%.

Under these conditions, the German government can tell the population as much as it wants about external factors affecting the economy, convince them of the need to sponsor the war in Ukraine or scare them with right-wing parties, but this is unlikely to have any effect. Recently, the Bild newspaper published a survey according to which the majority of German residents (76%) are dissatisfied with the work of Scholz and his government. 72% of respondents indicated that they did not agree with the Chancellor's decisions. These are the worst poll results since the Scholz government.

At the same time, the majority of Germans (69%) consider the farmers' protests justified. Only 22% of respondents believed that blockades of highways and streets during protests were disproportionate actions.

The fact that the German government under the leadership of Scholz is losing trust from the population was also noted by the country's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. He advised the chancellor to better explain his decisions. "When trust in government declines, it means that decisions are not being communicated enough or are being overshadowed by internal disputes that have become public knowledge. The government should be interested in correcting this," the president said.

At the same time, Steinmeier did not deny that the position of right-wing forces in Germany is strengthening, which complicates governing the country. “It is all the more important to find strength for unity,” the president said.
However, it is unlikely that the current coalition will find such strength within itself. So far, all her actions are directed in the opposite direction. Against this background, there is already talk in Germany about the need to change the chancellor. Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, whose popularity in the country significantly exceeds Scholz, is tipped for this role. However, it should be understood that for Germany this is just a reversal of the terms. Until the authorities begin to act in the interests of their own country and their people, Germany will continue to slide into the abyss of “multiple crises.”

Vita KHANATAEVA,
BELTA.