January 12, 2024 at 5.10pm
Photo: screenshot / theorganicprepper.com
German farmers’ protests began in 2024 with a bang. Last week, angry farmers prevented German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck from getting off the ferry as he returned from holiday. This week, however, German farmers are driving their cars on the highways. They blocked Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate in protest against the government’s abolition of agricultural diesel subsidies.
The farmers and their supporters plan to continue the protest throughout the week starting January 8. And they are not alone. French farmers are also protesting and last year we saw Dutch farmers protesting en masse.
Where did it all start in Germany?
The demonstrations began with a dispute over what to do with tax debts accrued during the coronavirus fraud. During Covid, Germany’s notoriously harsh tax laws were repealed, for the same reasons so many laws were suspended in the United States. However, after the official end of the global pandemic, the German government found itself in a haven of uncollected debts and decided to funnel the money into its climate fraud fund.
The opposition challenged the ruling, saying the German government should not transfer money in this way. This has forced parties supporting climate initiatives to find funding elsewhere.
Therefore, the German government decided to suspend the payment of part of the agricultural subsidies to fill budget gaps. Agricultural vehicle tax credits and diesel subsidies were initially expected to end, but after a series of protests in December, the government announced that vehicle tax credits would not be removed and that cuts to subsidies for diesel would be phased in over a longer period of time.
But the German agricultural sector is not satisfied with this, as it considers the changes to be unfair. In an interview with Reuters, German truck driver Joachim, who is protesting with the farmers, said it is not just about diesel subsidies, but also about the cost of living in general.
“What the government is doing to us – raising road taxes, raising diesel prices and so on – is overwhelming. Everyone suffers from it, everyone suffers from it, it’s everyone’s problem, which makes you feel bad every day when you go shopping.
Other protesters shared similar sentiments. Clayton Morris, head of Redacted, traveled to Berlin to provide an overview of the protests in Germany. His program on January 8 showed what was happening and included short interviews with Germans who, despite the cold, took to the streets to show their support for the peasants.
The farmers’ protests are actually about something much bigger
Although the official media have called the protesters “right-wing extremists”, the demonstrators say they are simply realists. They see government money being spent on climate initiatives and foreign wars that do not benefit the general population, and they want the public to realize this.
Over the past decade, Europeans’ lives have been negatively affected by massive waves of refugees and industry-destroying climate regulations. Any party like the Alternative for Germany (AfD) that seeks to focus on the needs of the average European citizen, rather than the global “commitments” the political class thinks it has, will be labeled as far right. Members of the German government, including the leader of the opposition party
2024-01-12 15:15:16
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