Protests sweep Germany as far-right spots an opening
CNN
Farmers across Germany have been bringing major roads to a standstill in protests in recent days, piling misery on Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition amid fury over subsidy cuts.
Farmers across Germany have been bringing major roads to a standstill in protests in recent days, piling misery on Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s governing coalition amid fury over subsidy cuts. The protests are expected to reach new heights on Monday, with a crowd of over 10,000 people and their tractors set to descend on the capital in a rally organized in conjunction with the German freight industry. Multiple other protests are planned across the country, which come as official data showed Germany’s economy shrank last year for the first time since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, many are warning that the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party is capitalizing on the chaos for its own political gain. In the shadow of Berlin’s iconic Brandenburg Gate, a convoy of up to 500 tractors lined up every day last week in freezing pre-dawn temperatures. To keep themselves warm, farmers lit fires and drank hot mugs of tea and coffee.
