the social climate is deteriorating, as is the economic and political situation

In Germany too, farmers are on the streets. In addition, the trains are stopped for six days, all this in a country whose culture of compromise has so often been praised.

Germany is currently experiencing two major social conflicts. Firstly, a standoff between Deutsche Bahn and the GDL train drivers’ union, which refuses to negotiate and remains firm in its demands: transition to a 35-hour week instead of 38, bonus of 2,850 euros to compensate inflation and salary increase of 555 euros per month.

At the same time, the farmers’ movement is not weakening against the government’s cost-saving measures. Operators denounce in particular the elimination of tax advantages on agricultural diesel. The end of this tax loophole will allow the government to recover a little more than 900 million euros, enough to fill part of the heavy budget deficit. But for some farmers, this means an annual loss of sometimes several tens of thousands of euros.

All these conflicts are hurting Europe’s largest economy, especially since this is already the fourth movement at Deutsche Bahn since November 2023. This time, according to an economist, the bill for these 144 hours of work stoppage could reach a billion euros. The Minister of Transport describes the strike as “destructive”, with an impact obviously for hundreds of thousands of travelers but also for other sectors of the economy, whose activity depends closely on rail transport, such as automobiles, chemicals, steelmaking… And these are just a few examples, because with its six European freight corridors, Germany is a hub for goods traffic.

According to Deutsche Bahn, it will take several days, perhaps even longer, for the European network to be operational again.

These movements express a “fear of the future”

It is the culture of compromise, so dear to Germany, which is faltering: this ability to defuse conflicts before they escalate is put to the test because the social climate is tense, analyzes Marcel Fratzscher, president of the German Institute for Economic Research: “Many people are afraid of the future. Fear for their jobs, fear for their income. The German state distributed a lot of money to citizens and in particular to the industrial sector, during the health crisis and during the energy crisis. And “People are expecting the government to continue to come to their aid. That’s just unrealistic. And that’s leading to this great frustration.”

For Chancellor Olaf Scholz and his coalition, these mobilizations herald a difficult year. With a party in ambush, the AfD, the German far-right, which hopes to take advantage of the distrust in the government while several regional elections are planned this year.