(CN) — From the North Sea to the Bavarian mountains, German farmers on Monday began a weeklong protest against cuts to agriculture subsidies proposed by the fractious and unpopular government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat whose own job may be in doubt.
The protests signal deepening trouble for Scholz's center-left Social Democrats and their coalition partners, the pro-environment Greens and pro-business Free Democrats. All three parties have sunk in opinion polls and infighting has broken out, exposing their ideological differences halfway through a four-year mandate.
Germany is suffering from a stalling economy caused by the shock of the Ukraine war and the government is paralyzed by a severe budget crisis. The budget woes are forcing the imposition of austerity measures, including cuts to diesel subsidies enjoyed by Germany's struggling and heavily subsidized farmers.
An anti-government theme is running through the protests as farmers and their allies call for Scholz's resignation and an end to the so-called “traffic light” coalition, as the government is dubbed by German media, based on the respective colors of the three parties. In a grim reference to this nickname, gallows have appeared on German roadways with models of traffic lights dangling from them.
Throughout Monday, farmers caused major disruptions in many parts of Germany by blocking roads with convoys of tractors. They also convened at rallies in front of state parliament buildings. About 550 farmers parked tractors outside the Brandenburg Gate in the heart of Berlin and brought traffic to a standstill in the capital.
The protests may grow: Truck drivers, rail workers and other groups are either joining the farmers' demonstrations or staging their own actions to demand better pay and working conditions.
Mostly, the protests were peaceful, though one protester was seriously injured after he was struck by a vehicle in Lower Saxony.
But there are concerns that radical right and ultra-nationalist groups, including the surging far-right Alternative für Deutschland party, will use the protests to stoke tensions against Scholz's left-leaning liberal government.
AfD, as the far-right group is commonly known, is the second most popular party behind the Christian Democrats, the mainstream conservatives who are now in opposition. AfD members tout the protests as evidence of deep unrest across Germany over the country's leadership.
In what would be a major shock for Germany and Europe, AfD is poised to win three regional state elections this September in eastern Germany. The rise of AfD has turned into a major dilemma with Germany's other parties refusing to join it in coalitions due to its extremist views, including harsh rhetoric against immigrants. Many view AfD as akin to a new Nazi party and some leading Social Democrats are even calling for it to be banned.
On Monday, German media reported that symbols used by Third Way, a neo-Nazi organization, and Free Saxony, an extremist right-wing group, were displayed at the farmer protests. AfD signs were on display too.
Along with the rise of the AfD, anxiety over extremist sentiment in Germany has grown in the wake of large-scale anti-vaccine protests during the coronavirus pandemic and the December 2022 arrests of 25 people linked to the so-called Reichsbürger movement. Police accuse this group of plotting to overthrow Germany's constitutional order. Reichsbürger movement adherents do not view the German state as legitimate and want to restore the German Empire.
Robert Habeck, the economics minister and a co-leader of the Greens, warned the protests may be hijacked by extremists. Along with Scholz, Habeck has been a main target of protesters because of his role in pushing for green policies and advocating for cuts to agricultural subsidies.
Last Thursday, Habeck and his wife were blocked by protesters from leaving a ferry after they visited an island off the cost of northern Germany. The incident was condemned by German politicians and media and seen as a dangerous breach of democratic debate.
“It makes me thoughtful, yes, even concerned, that the mood in the country is heating up to such an extent,” Habeck said in a statement on Friday.
Cem Özdemir, a Green member and the federal minister for food and agriculture, was much more blunt.
After the ferry incident, he went on Germany's public broadcaster ARD and called protesters “fanatics” who have “wet dreams of insurrection.”
At many protests, the Greens were mocked. In Munich, a banner read: “Save our middle class, drive the Greens out of the country.” Another one said: “Stop the eco-socialism project GDR 2.0,” a reference linking the traffic light coalition to the former East German communist state, also known as GDR.
Adding to the mood of crisis around Scholz are rumblings in German and Italian media of his potential resignation and replacement by Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, a Social Democrat who is viewed as the country's most popular politician.
In late December, La Repubblica, a major Italian newspaper, cited anonymous sources saying Scholz might resign over his involvement in a scandal related to the 2020 bankruptcy of Wirecard, a payment company accused of massive fraud whose chief financial officer, Jan Marsalek, is believed to have been a Russian agent. Scholz was federal finance minister at the time. Bild, Germany's main tabloid, has issued similar reports.
Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.
Follow @cainburdeau
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