The Minister of Agriculture warns: Do not let Germany become like America – Politico

Germany's agriculture minister, Cem Oezdemir, has warned that Germany is at risk of political polarization like the United States amid massive farmer protests over subsidy cuts.

“This is a dangerous division that could lead to conditions like those in the United States,” Ozdemir told German media group Funke in an interview. Reports Tuesday. “People no longer talk to each other, they no longer believe each other, and they accuse each other of all the evil in the world,” he said at a time when the demonstrations had divided German politics.

In late December, the center-left government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced tax increases and cuts to agricultural subsidies in an attempt to resolve Germany's major budget crisis. Gradual elimination of subsidies Agrifuels by 2026 He was at the heart of the farmers' protests.

Ozdemir added that the increasing participation of right-wing participants in the protests is a problem, because they do not prioritize “the interests of farmers.”

The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party has positioned itself as the figurehead of the protest, saying They stand “with our farmers”. But critics, including Oezdemir, pointed this out Party programme It still reflects its original position before the protest wave, where it called for “more competition and less subsidies” in agriculture.

“If it were up to the AfD, agriculture would simply not receive any subsidies,” said Ozdemir, a senior figure in the Green Party.

Last week, a mob of angry farmers went so far as to prevent Economy Minister Robert Habeck, another prominent member of the Green Party, from getting off a ferry while it was docked in northern Germany. According to an investigation conducted by a German newspaper Oil diesA woman who ran for the Alternative for Germany party is suspected of being involved in organizing the protest.

Joachim Rockweed, head of the German Farmers Association, which organized this week's protests, condemned the incident involving Habeck. He said: “We do not want right-wing and other extremist groups to want to overthrow the government in our demonstrations.” “We are democrats.”