Berlin – Germany, once not known for consecutive strikes and protests, exemplified relatively stable labor market relations. However, recent events have painted a very different picture. Numerous tractors have been obstructing traffic as a form of farmer protests, the train network is nearly halted on many lines due to drivers' strikes, doctors are threatening to strike and close clinics, and that's just scratching the surface of unrest.
"There's a clear danger to the social peace, long questioned in this country. We just have to look at the increasing poverty, financial hardships, and the fears many people endure," says Eva Vollbl, an economic and social policy advisor at the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, speaking to Al Jazeera Net.
Highways and urban centers have witnessed the spread of tractors and heavy machinery in a Germany-wide movement of protest (Getty)
Major Sectors Protest
Despite the cold climate, farmers' protests have not ceased but escalated significantly this week since January 8th, with tractors and heavy machinery deployed in city centers and at the entrances of highways. A primary reason for the protest is the government's plan to halt the tax exemption on diesel fuel previously benefited from by farmers, pushing the government to reconsider their vehicle tax plan.
Travel within several German cities has become increasingly difficult. The German Farmers Association, the driving force behind the protests, threatens further escalation against government policies. If the government does not fully stop its plans, come next Monday, there will be major tractor marches, according to the union.
Adding pressure on German authorities, some freight unions have joined the farmers' protests due to plans to double fees related to emissions. Protesters also demand improvements to the road network.
Train drivers, on strike demanding higher wages and reduced working hours, find no resolution despite multiple rounds of talks with Deutsche Bahn, the German railway company. This could lead to year-long strikes.
Many doctors have kept their clinics closed during working days between Christmas and New Year's holidays protesting poor compensation and long working hours. Other sectors expressing discontent include pharmacies, restaurants, bakeries, and craftsmen.
"I don't think it's wise to exclude the direct causes of the strikes to evaluate them," says Felix Anderl from the Center for Conflict Studies at Marburg University to Al Jazeera Net, noting that several of these strikes and protests are not interconnected but coincidentally happened in the same week.
Nevertheless, the expert adds that Germany has recently witnessed "a more active strike culture, likely tied to rising inflation and relatively lower wages compared to other industrial nations," highlighting that the government was significantly affected by the manner of farmers' protests, especially since the size and distribution of such protests were significant, indicating a frustration beyond the declared demands.
Some freight unions have joined farmers' protests over emission taxes (European Pressphoto Agency)
Significant Pressure on the Government
Since forming at the end of 2021, Olaf Scholz's government has faced multiple challenges, inheriting Coronavirus pandemic repercussions and then the war in Ukraine, which sparked significant inflation and major energy issues, alongside welcoming hundreds of thousands of new refugees.
The budget crisis struck at the end of 2023 when the Constitutional Court ruled the transfer of 60 billion euros to the Climate Fund unconstitutional, leading to a significant budget gap for the year 2024 and necessitated spending cuts.
"The current government has provided the context for these protests," says Vollbl, commenting on the apparent lack of government foresight into the repercussions of their policies on the agricultural sector.
The expert highlights the government's adherence to austerity, refusal to tax the rich, and the lack of substantive debate on wealth distribution, "monopolized by a few families," will "greatly fuel social conflicts." She also notes that conflict within government components exacerbates the situation.
The German government is composed of the Social Democratic Party (the Chancellor's party), the Greens with environmental interests, and the Free Democratic Party supporting liberalism. The government is under immense political pressure from the opposition that has sparked debate about early elections to change the government.
According to Anderl, due to a lack of internal consensus on major policies, the government is in a "weak position," highlighting that funding cuts leading to protests result from the debt brake mechanism (a policy enacted in 2009 in the Basic Law, which restricts government borrowing).
"The government is in a defensive position, not proposing any vision for the future but constantly managing the aftermath of its internal conflicts around what needs to be cut," he adds.
Strikes and protests raise fears of far-right groups exploiting the atmosphere (European Pressphoto Agency)
Far-right Exploits Atmosphere
While widespread discontent in various sectors has become apparent, there is concern that populist and extremist right-wing groups such as neo-Nazis and the "Third Way" organization, openly hostile to the established German system and ready to resort to violence, might exploit the situation.
"Being angry at the government's poor performance doesn't mean using just any means. We will continue to protest for the future of agriculture, but peacefully, without any slide into violence," says Karina Grieschke, from the German Rural Youth Organization (BDL) participating in the protests, to Al Jazeera Net.
"We do not question the legitimacy of the elected government. Modern agriculture needs reliable planning, but even more so peace, freedom, and a democratic society. For sustainable agriculture to fulfill its role, it must stand firmly on these foundations, so there's no tolerance for any anti-democratic currents."
This comes after multiple reports of new Nazis infiltrating several farmer protests. Organizations and parties have raised alarm bells following the rise in far-right demonstrations in the past months, targeting immigrants and refugees.
Authorities are wary of calls for "a general strike" unprecedented since the country's unification, proposed by members of the right-wing party "Alternative for Germany," which stir controversy considering such a strike lacks legal and constitutional support.
Despite the farmers' union publically distancing itself from the far right, these groups continue to flow among the protesters. Anderl notes that the Alternative party presents itself as the voice of the German countryside, despite never seriously committing to agricultural issues before, suggesting to cut all subsidies for farmers.
Vollbl states, "We see a community unable to escape a crisis mode—pandemic aftermath, the war, inflation, rising poverty, and climate crisis. This perpetual crisis mode is exploited by the far right to their advantage."
She continues that the far right "quickly understood that the farmers' protest is strategically significant and has hijacked a fundamental part of it to incite against what they call the existing regime."
