Germany brought to its knees by train strike and farmer roadblocks

GERMANY’S transport system was on the brink of collapse yesterday as train drivers went on strike, forcing commuters on to motorways blocked by mass protests by farmers.

On the third day of the farming industry’s “week of courage”, during which thousands of tractors have blocked motorways and city centres, train drivers began a strike over pay and working conditions.

The 64-hour drivers’ strike has paralysed city metros and shut down 80 per cent of long-distance rail networks, with the tabloid Bild warning of the risk of a “German transport collapse”.

Rail commuters were forced to find a way to work on the roads, but many are also being blocked by farmers who are protesting across Germany against the phasing out of diesel subsidies.

Lorry drivers are already on strike and doctors were threatening to take the same step earlier this week, piling yet more pressure on Olaf Scholz, the chancellor and his government.

As tensions rose in a country generally known for being the most stable in Europe, Cem Ozdemir, the agriculture minister, warned of a “dangerous” divide emerging in German society.

“People in rural areas feel left behind and they worry that politics is increasingly dominated by city-dwellers,” he said.

Yesterday, Joachim Rukwied, the president of the national farmers’ association, attacked officials in the “Berlin bubble”, accusing them of being out of touch with normal Germans.

The government needed to listen to “those who keep Germany running through their daily work, including farmers”, he said.

‘People in rural areas feel left behind and worry that politics is dominated by citydwellers’