After the farmers’ protest against cuts to agricultural subsidies, which a few days ago brought Berlin and other cities in Germany to a standstill with thousands of tractors in a caravan, now comes the lament of the transporters. More than 1,500 trucks, heavy vehicles and tractors converged this Friday in Berlin to demand that the Social Democratic, Green and Liberal Government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz renounce the increase in tolls and the increase in the price of CO2 fuel. Since January 1 of this year, the price of gasoline, diesel and gas is 45 euros per ton.
Apart from these claims, truckers also demand better infrastructure for the profession, according to the official call for the march, launched by the Federal Association of Logistics and Professional Transport (BLV-pro). “For us it is simply about having the opportunity to survive in the market in the future,” said its spokesman, Daniel Beständig. The bulk of the concentration of trucks occurred around the emblematic Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.
According to the Berlin police, at twelve noon on Friday there were 1,500 protesters in the area with 620 trucks and 150 tractors, but the number should grow during the protest day, which continues until 6 p.m. The presence of tractors is also explained because the truck drivers – who support the protest of the agricultural sector – in turn have the support of the farmers, whose products they transport throughout the country and abroad.
These mobilizations illustrate an acute climate of unrest with the ruling coalition, which is foundering in the polls – the three parties have around 33% support, far from the 52% majority they obtained in the 2021 elections – in a year with Key electoral events: European elections on June 9 and regional polls in September in three eastern länder.
The transport association BLV-pro explicitly chose this week for the protest, because it is the first session in the Bundestag (lower house of Parliament), and because it coincides with the opening of the Grüne Woche, the agricultural week at the fairgrounds of Berlin, which receives thousands of visitors every year.