Astonishing footage of a mob of around 100 German farmers appearing to be trying to force their way onto a ferry with a German minister aboard it is evidence the country’s “political discourse is going off the rails”, according to a top European economist.
According to Politico, enraged farmers hastily planned to ambush the German Vice-Chancellor and Green Party politician Robert Habeck as he was returning from holiday.
This comes after the country’s government announced plans to remove tax privileges for farmers, including a tax break on diesel. Olaf Scholz was forced into producing a new draft budget, after a constitutional court ruling in November made a €60billion black hole in the public finances.
As a result, the Chancellor has been forced to curb state spending and the removal of tax breaks for farmers, something which the industry says will push many agrarian operators out of business.
Reacting to the incredible scenes surrounding Mr Habeck’s ferry, Chrisitan Odendahl, the Economist’s European Economics Editor, said that the mob’s arrival was indicative of a breakdown in political engagement in Germany.
Taking to X, Mr Odendahl said: “German farmers trying to storm the ferry on which the vice chancellor, Robert Habeck, was returning from his holidays. Hard to overstate how Germany’s political discourse is going off the rails.”
A spokesman for Mr Habeck said that as a result of the mob’s arrival, the ferry, which was rented by the minister for a private visit to North Sea Island, had to leave port as disembarking was not possible “for security reasons”.
The spokesman added that the farmers rejected the option for a few farmers to engage with Mr Habeck on the vessel.
This latest incident comes off the back of hundreds farmers driving their tractors to the centre of Berlin in protest at the new budget.
Farmers were seen carrying placards at the Brandenburg gates reading: “Your politics are a declaration of war against farmers” and “Too much is too much! It’s over now!”
Hours prior to the ferry incident, which required police to use pepper spray, the Government announced that it would backtrack on some of the tax changes. However protests have vowed to continue their campaign until all tax hikes on farmers are reversed.
