5,000 tractors: Berlin braces for largest farmer demonstration to date

At 11:30 am, farmers from all over Germany will gather in protest against the planned end of diesel tax breaks for the agricultural sector. 

Slogans such as "Empty tank - no more", "No future without farmers" and "Transport made in Germany - for how much longer?" were plastered onto the vehicles en route.

Other banners spoke of government failure, resistance to injustice, embezzlement, cronyism and warmongering.

READ ALSO: ANALYSIS: Why are German farmers so angry?

5,000 tractors expected in Berlin

Farmers' organisations and the Federal Association of Road Haulage, Logistics and Waste Disposal have called for the large demonstration, with around 5,000 tractors and agricultural machinery from all over the Bundesrepublik expected to attend, in addition to 10,000 registered participants. 

The demo marks the highlight of a week of action against government plans to withdraw tax breaks for the agricultural sector this year.

Despite the government party rolling back some of the cuts, farmers have said that this is not enough. 

Thousands travelled to Berlin to protest the move in December and again last week, blocking roads with their tractors and dumping manure on the street. Protests were also announced at other locations around the country, such as Chemnitz, Freiburg and Bitburg.

Several hours before the start of the large demo, the police had already stopped allowing tractors onto the demonstration area on Straße des 17. Other travellers were directed to an alternative area at the Olympic Stadium. 

Heavy traffic obstructions were also seen at several other locations throughout the city. Drivers on the tractors were blasting their horns as they travelled through the city. 

Could the farmers get their way?

The leaders of the centre-left SPD, Greens and pro-business FDP parliamentary groups have invited the heads of Germany’s agricultural associations to a meeting this Monday. The Bundestag has yet to approve the 2024 federal budget and the planned cuts to agricultural diesel.

But both Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), who plans to speak at the protest, and Green Party parliamentary group leader Britta Haßelmann dampened expectations in advance that the subsidy cancellations would be completely waived.

The government wants to gradually abolish tax breaks for agricultural diesel, and has said it intends to forego the originally planned abolition of the motor vehicle tax exemption for agriculture. 

However, the German Farmers' Association is calling for the cuts to be cancelled completely.

 "The subsidisation of agricultural diesel and the motor vehicle tax exemption are essential for a competitive agricultural sector," it said.

Lindner said on Sunday at a New Year's reception of the North Rhine-Westphalian FDP in Düsseldorf that farmers could not receive special treatment. 

He would "not be able to promise at the rally on Monday that all areas of society would have to make consolidation contributions - except one," he said.

In response to a judgement from Germany's Constitutional Court, the federal government has to plug billions of euros of holes in the federal budget.

The Greens' Britta Haßelmann said that forestry and agriculture would remain exempt from motor vehicle tax and that the subsidy for agricultural diesel would be gradually reduced so that everyone could adjust. 

"This is a solution that helps farmers and at the same time keeps an eye on the overall responsibility for the budget."

READ ALSO: German far right seeks to exploit farmer protests