German farmers, tractors and trucks block Berlin avenue in tax protest

[January 15, 2024]  By Thomas Escritt

BERLIN (Reuters) -Thousands of tractors and trucks and about 10,000 people blocked the avenue leading to Berlin's Brandenburg Gate on Monday, capping a week of protests against higher taxes for farmers that have become a flashpoint for anti-government anger.

Vehicles that arrived overnight from across Germany parked nose-to-tail along the route, and crowds of farmers wrapped up against the cold waved German flags and held up banners marked with slogans including "Without farmers, no future".

The protests have heaped pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz's coalition as it struggles to fix a budget mess and contain right-wing groups.

By Sunday evening, police warned that the avenue was already full and called on protesters to gather at other locations, including by the Olympic Stadium in the western district of Charlottenburg.

The protests surged in response to a government decision to phase out a tax break on agricultural diesel as it tried to balance its 2024 budget after a constitutional court ruling in November threw its spending plans into disarray.

Facing a fierce backlash, the government has already agreed not to scrap a tax rebate on new agricultural vehicles and to spread the scrapping of the agricultural diesel subsidy over several years.

But farmers, with the vocal backing of the opposition conservatives and the far-right, say this does not go far enough.

"Without stability in the countryside, without agriculture our country has no future," Farmers' Union president Joachim Rukwied said from a chilly stage in front of the Brandenburg Gate. "That's why we are prepared to take to the streets."

He thanked Finance Minister Christian Lindner, standing next to him on the stage, for attending the rally.

German farmers protest against the cut of vehicle tax subsidies of the so-called German Ampel coalition government in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany January 15, 2024. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch

The government has taken a conciliatory tone amid concerns that political debate is becoming radicalized and that demonstrations could turn violent.

"I have respect for every politician who is prepared to come to us," Rukwied said, though some in the crowd could be heard to jeer. Demonstration leaders will meet coalition party leaders later for talks.

The governing parties are at odds over how best to meet farmers' demands. Agriculture Minister Cem Ozdemir, a Green, has suggested financial rewards for humane animal husbandry, while some Social Democrats want to offer higher produce prices, and Lindner's Free Democrats want to cut administrative overheads.

Berlin's main west-east avenue and several bus and tram lines closed for the protest. Around 1,300 officers were out patrolling the demonstration, police said.

Disruption caused by protests and train strikes last week hurt coalition parties in the polls and propelled the far-right Alternative for Germany party to new heights.

In a video podcast on Saturday, Scholz said the government had listened to farmers' demands and compromised.

"We've taken the farmers' arguments to heart and revised our proposals. A good compromise," he said.

(Reporting by Thomas Escritt, Linda Pasquini, Reuters TV; Editing by Tom Hogue, Ros Russell and Andrew Heavens)

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