Farmer Protests Raise Temperature On Governing Coalition

Mass protests by German farmers and agricultural workers across the country are putting pressure on Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his 'traffic light' coalition to change course on plans to remove some subsidies for agricultural-use diesel and tractor payments. The protests have come amid calls from some senior politicians for the gov't to rethink its plans, that intend to plug a multi-billion euro hole in the federal budget.

• Food and Agriculture Minister Cem Ozdemir had previously called the changes 'disproportionate', but has now changed to support the measures following a scaling back of plans, with the removal of diesel subsidies set to be phased in, and the removal of vehicle subsidies scrapped entirely.
• Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Manuela Schwesig - from Scholz's Social Democrats (SPD) - has called for the rollback of planned cuts, stating that "The federal government must reduce the burden on farmers...We must not forget: Farmers ensure that we have food in Germany that is still affordable.".
• Politicians have warned about the protests being co-opted by right-wing groups. Alternative for Germany (AfD), averaging 23% in opinion polling in 2024, is vocally backing the farmers as it seeks to make significant gains in the next set of state elections coming up in September. The party consistently polls far ahead of the three parties forming the governing coalition, which remains riven by internal tensions as it seeks to balance budget discipline with maintaining public support.