In Stuttgart, farmers from all over the country protested against the federal government’s austerity plans. The tractor demo led to numerous traffic disruptions in the Stuttgart area.
Farmers from all over the country came to Stuttgart on Thursday by tractor to protest. They criticize the federal government’s austerity plans. Among other things, the tax relief for agricultural diesel is to be abolished. The farmers also protested against this with piles of dung at various points along their route into the city.
Already in the morning there were severe traffic disruptions on access roads to Stuttgart. For example, there was a delay of up to half an hour on the B10 near Esslingen and the B27 near Aichtal (Esslingen district) due to slow-moving tractors.
Traffic jams on the roads: With the tractor to Stuttgart
More than 200 protesters from the Tuttlingen district alone made their way to Stuttgart by tractor. Columns of tractors also came to Stuttgart from the north, for example from the Heilbronn district. According to the police, several hundred farmers and their tractors had set off from the direction of Ulm and Göppingen to Stuttgart via the A8.
Hundreds of farmers in the Rhein-Neckar district are protesting with their tractors against the federal government’s plans to cut agricultural costs. The rally started in Meckesheim.
According to SWR information, 200 tractors set off from Merklingen on the motorway towards Stuttgart. The police initially directed the vehicles into the left lane and finally drove them off the motorway at the Neuhausen exit (Esslingen district). However, there were traffic jams of over ten kilometers long on the A8, according to the police.
Only 150 tractors were allowed into Stuttgart city center
The police in Stuttgart initially directed all vehicles to the Cannstatter Wasen. From there, after an agreement between the city and the organizers, 150 tractors were allowed to drive to the Ministry of Agriculture in the city center.
According to the police, there were more than 2,000 tractors in Stuttgart. The protest was largely peaceful. There were some smaller actions that resulted in tractor drivers briefly stopping on the road, said a spokesman when asked by SWR. After the police asked, the farmers then drove on. The farmers who piled up the dung heaps would have to expect a report. According to the police, the farmers were cooperative when it came to traffic control.
Right-wing symbols and posters spotted at demo
Some participants in the demo procession saw hand-made gallows with a traffic light on them or clearly tied ropes on the tractors. Anti-Semitic symbols and slogans that go back to the nationalist “rural people” movement of the 1920s were also seen on some tractors on Thursday. Corresponding flags and posters were also present at previous demonstrations in Berlin and northern Germany. The largest German farmers’ association had distanced itself from the ethnic movement. When asked, the Stuttgart police said the flags and symbols were not unconstitutional.
After the demo in Berlin, the farmers from Heilbronn-Franconia are now taking to the streets in Stuttgart. It is still about agricultural policy and planned cuts by the federal government.
BW: Farmers criticize the federal government’s austerity plans
Those who registered for the demo had expressly pointed out in advance that their protest was not directed against the agricultural policy of the state of Baden-Württemberg. The farmers demonstrated expressly against the traffic light government’s policy in Berlin to finance the federal budget. “You are abolishing German agriculture!” could be read on posters.
“We don’t want to disturb anyone or anything, but unfortunately there’s no other way. That’s why we’re now trying to have a peaceful demonstration. The smugglers just block roads, they’re loud, they’re big,” said farmers from the Ulm region the protest.
Farmers from Lake Constance and the Black Forest at the protest in Stuttgart
Farmers who had come from Kaiserstuhl and Lake Constance were also at the rally on Kernerplatz. There was extra applause at the rally for the tractor drivers who had to travel particularly long distances. A farmer from Kaiserstuhl said they left at 3 a.m. that night. Above all, he now wants an honest policy that is based on the reality of farmers. “We have to generate more and more, but on the other hand we are being slowed down more and more,” he told SWR. “But we have to compete with products from abroad that are cheaper and can be manufactured more cheaply due to low standards.”
At the rally, the State Farmers’ Association in Baden-Württemberg eV reiterated its demand for the federal government’s tax increase plans to be withdrawn. The proposals would put an enormous burden on local agriculture to the tune of around one billion euros annually. The state parliamentary groups of the Greens and the CDU in Baden-Württemberg have already sided with the farmers and support their demands.
Further protests possible from the second week of January
“The federal government’s proposals must be taken off the table without any ifs or buts,” said Jürgen Maurer, vice president of the state farmers’ association. Farmers in Baden-Württemberg would not be able to compensate for such competitive disadvantages. “Our farmers produce safe, high-quality food every day. We farmers are leaders in nature and environmental protection services. We maintain and preserve the cultural landscape and implement a high standard of animal welfare. All of these services must be financed so that the farming families can make a living “, he said. Such a disproportionate burden on family businesses is completely unacceptable. During their protest, the farmers also made it clear that they would continue to fight for their interests. However, a Christmas peace will be maintained until January 8th.
Not the first protest
Last Saturday, a demonstration with 160 vehicles caused traffic disruptions in downtown Stuttgart. On Monday, several thousand participants with hundreds of tractors in Berlin vented their anger about the traffic light coalition’s austerity plans. There were similar demonstrations in other federal states. The federal government wants to abolish tax relief for agricultural diesel and also raise vehicle tax for tractors, combine harvesters and harvesters.