Farmers angry at cuts to diesel subsidies blockaded the ferry on which Deputy Chancellor Robert Habeck was returning from holiday. Many politicians condemned the action, the farmers' union also called it a "no-go."
German Deputy Chancellor Robert Habeck and his wife were held up for several hours late on Thursday on their return from a private vacation, as roughly 250 to 300 farmers blockaded the port their ferry was docking at, preventing those on board from disembarking.
Farmers were angered last month when they bore part of the brunt of a large hole that emerged in Germany’s 2024 budget and future spending plans.
Habeck is relevant to this issue for two reasons: he was one of the three party leaders, along with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Finance Minister Christian Lindner, to negotiate a way out of the budget impasse; and his portfolio also includes considerable if shared responsibility for energy and climate policies.
The tactics used by farmers in the protests, using their tractors to form massive queues and block traffic, and in some cases even dumping manure on public roads, had already prompted criticism.
“We stand by the compromise,” Özdemir said, referring both to the delayed removal of diesel subsidies and another concession, agreed just this Thursday, to keep farmers exempt from paying road tax on their agricultural vehicles.
Hendrik Wüst, a Christian Democrat who heads the government of Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, similarly said that Thursday night’s behavior “damages the farmers’ justified cause and must have consequences.”
The original article contains 901 words, the summary contains 217 words. Saved 76%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!
This is the best summary I could come up with:
German Deputy Chancellor Robert Habeck and his wife were held up for several hours late on Thursday on their return from a private vacation, as roughly 250 to 300 farmers blockaded the port their ferry was docking at, preventing those on board from disembarking.
Farmers were angered last month when they bore part of the brunt of a large hole that emerged in Germany’s 2024 budget and future spending plans.
Habeck is relevant to this issue for two reasons: he was one of the three party leaders, along with Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Finance Minister Christian Lindner, to negotiate a way out of the budget impasse; and his portfolio also includes considerable if shared responsibility for energy and climate policies.
The tactics used by farmers in the protests, using their tractors to form massive queues and block traffic, and in some cases even dumping manure on public roads, had already prompted criticism.
“We stand by the compromise,” Özdemir said, referring both to the delayed removal of diesel subsidies and another concession, agreed just this Thursday, to keep farmers exempt from paying road tax on their agricultural vehicles.
Hendrik Wüst, a Christian Democrat who heads the government of Germany’s most populous state, North Rhine-Westphalia, similarly said that Thursday night’s behavior “damages the farmers’ justified cause and must have consequences.”
The original article contains 901 words, the summary contains 217 words. Saved 76%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!