German farmers drive tractors into Berlin to protest fuel subsidy cuts: ‘government must resign’
- The rallies prompted the government to partially walk back on the cuts, promising to reinstate a vehicle tax discount and to phase out a diesel subsidy over several years
- The farmers’ demos come at a time when approval ratings for Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-way coalition government are at an all-time low
Thousands of angry farmers descended on Berlin with their tractors and loudly booed a government minister on Monday, rounding off a week of nationwide protests against plans to cut tax breaks for agriculture.
More than 5,000 tractors were already blocking the streets and honking their horns by midmorning, a police spokeswoman said.
Finance Minister Christian Lindner put up a robust defence of the government’s plans at the protest, insisting they were about “how we can get out of a difficult situation together”.
But he was met with boos and whistles when he took to the podium, with protesters chanting “liar” and calling for the government to be ousted.
“For me, the government must resign. They are no longer capable of leading us,” Paul Brzezinski, 73, a dairy farmer based southeast of Berlin, said.