Germany: Farmer Protests Continue, Get Even Bigger

These Germans need to understand that the most important thing in the world is war against Russia. And, furthermore, war against Moslems.

We can’t simply go around dealing with the problems of peasants when we have big time wars to manage.

We also have to change the weather.

The Guardian:

Thousands of tractors have brought Berlin’s city centre to a standstill as farmers from across Germany protested on parliament’s doorstep over rising costs and a plan to phase out agricultural fuel subsidies.

An estimated 30,000 protesters, including farmers supported by a wide range of representatives from other industries from fishing to gastronomy to logistics, blocked the streets around the government quarter on Monday with their vehicles, including lorries and forklift trucks, and even children’s toy tractors.

Joachim Rukwied, the president of the German farmers’ union, called on the government to scrap its plans to phase out fuel subsidies, warning that many farmers would be driven to bankruptcy by the decision.

“The government has the ability to change this,” he told thousands of protesters gathered at the Brandenburg Gate, adding: “This much is too much. Take back the proposals.” As soon as the government signalled it was prepared to backtrack, Rukwied promised, “the tractors will be withdrawn”.

Christian Lindner, the finance minister and the main force behind the decision to cut the fuel subsidy, was greeted with loud boos and whistles as he took to the stage to address the rally.

“Your protest is legitimate and your protest is peaceful,” he told the protesters, praising their “cohesion”. But his words were hardly heard above the angry tumult.

He acknowledged that anger among farmers went beyond the diesel subsidy. “Something has been brewing for decades,” he said. “We need to talk.” He added that a “new phase” had arrived, “in which we need to speak afresh about what the function of the state is”.

Yeah.

It’s a conversation we need to have in every Western country: what is the function of the state?

But you can’t have that conversation. They will just call you a Nazi and censor you.

The demonstration marked the culmination of a week of protests across the country that have attracted a growing number of workers from other fields, including thousands of trades people from heating engineers to plumbers, angry over high energy costs, mounting bureaucracy, high add-on labour costs and a lack of consultation.

Representatives of the hospitality industry in attendance are demanding the government withdraw its recent VAT increase on restaurants from 7% to 19%.

That is a very big VAT.

But the Ukraine needs money. Someone has to pay for this endless war for democracy. Ukraine won’t even have a democracy if German restaurants don’t pay their 17%.

Entering the German capital on Sunday night, tractors blared their horns and shone headlights, with one farmer revving a chainsaw, prompting furious confrontations between protesters and Berliners angry at having their sleep disrupted.

Similar, smaller-scale protests took place across the country, blocking main transport arteries. The protests also spread to storage and packing facilities belonging to Amazon, where workers have recently demonstrated against allegedly poor working conditions, and the discount supermarket chain Aldi, in what were seen as expressions of broader feelings of discontent towards the government.

The far-right populist Alternative für Deutschland has been blamed for contributing to the angry mood. Its accusations towards the government of cronyism, embezzlement and war-mongering were reflected in many of the banners and speeches visible on Monday.

Well.

Are the accusations true?

That seems more relevant than the fact that the allegations are being lodged: whether or not they are accurate.

For example: why is Germany at war with Russia?