“It’s no longer just about farmers or freight forwarders. The government’s political decisions affect all of us,” explained Torsten Deutschmann, owner of a transport company in northern Hesse. He told the media, “That’s why we want to use regional campaigns to draw attention to grievances in politics.”
This is also important to freight forwarder Mathias Uhde. His company, CSG Gerswalde, has 50 trucks on the road, 6 of which run on gas. “Back then, the government praised these vehicles as climate-friendly and as an incentive to buy them, they were exempt from tolls. That’s over now. Now the toll increases have hit us with full force,” said the traffic manager. That is why he is taking to the streets against the government’s toll increase.
Two tractorcades have around 300 vehicles registered, consisting of around 150 tractors, 100 cars and 50 trucks. They will join together for an evening rally in the city of Eschwege. There will be no blockades of roads or highways, but farmers will deploy to supermarkets to hand out flyers and hold discussions with shoppers. In addition, farmer delegations will visit offices of the three Berlin government parties to present petitions.
