The Greens have canceled their political Ash Wednesday in Biberach due to violent protests. Since early morning, numerous tractors had blocked the streets to the town hall, where, among others, Federal Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir was supposed to appear. Hundreds of people gathered in front of the venue. A police spokesman spoke of “aggressive protest actions” in connection with the demonstrations. Objects were thrown, a vehicle was damaged and several police officers were slightly injured. Officers used batons and pepper spray and one person was arrested. The police spokesman said there were concerns as to whether “the event could take place safely,” hence the cancellation.
Ash Wednesday in Biberach is one of the most important green dates of the political year. Numerous prominent members were on the speaker list, not only Agriculture Minister Özdemir, but also party leader Ricarda Lang and Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann. It was foreseeable that the farmers would protest this year. Two demonstrations were registered, a rally on the Gigelberg above the town hall and a rally.
Many of the images taken in Biberach on Wednesday are similar to the protests of the past few weeks. There was the pile of dung that was dumped on the sidewalk, the honking tractors, the protest posters: “Against traffic light madness.” However, the police were apparently surprised by the force of the aggression that some participants showed. Their exact extent is still unclear.
How many of the participants were aggressive, who registered the demonstrations, how many participants were announced – the police spokesman could not say all of this. When asked whether the police had underestimated the scale of the protests, the spokesman said that they had assessed the situation in advance. People were prepared for the demonstrations, but so far they have always been peaceful.
“It is a defeat for democracy,” says Jürgen Trittin
Özdemir himself didn’t make it to the town hall that day, but in the late morning he climbed onto a truck that had been converted into a speaker’s stage on the Gigelberg, with hundreds of angry farmers in front of him. “Özdemir, I’m terrified of you,” reads some signs. Özdemir calls out to the demonstrators that he understands their anger. The federal government’s original austerity decisions were “unfair”. But he also appeals for understanding because he is definitely committed to the farmers, the low welfare label, the origin label for food, the billion for pig farmers. The crowd’s reaction: whistles, horns, “Let’s drive him to hell!” a man shouts. The event was officially canceled shortly afterwards.
In the town hall you meet a rather depressed Jürgen Trittin, who has already experienced a lot in his political life. But that? “It is a defeat for democracy,” says Trittin. And of course the police have to ask themselves whether they were adequately prepared.
Özdemir doesn’t want to go that far when he gives his assessment of this special political Ash Wednesday after the rejection in the Biberach district office. Özdemir thanks the police and tries to draw a line between the farmers’ legitimate protests and border crossings. “It’s not the farmers, it’s not agriculture.” These were “individuals” who had “done German agriculture a disservice”.