As of: February 4, 2024, 3:00 p.m
By: Miriam Kohr
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Don't dangle for much longer: the shoes on the Zollingen community sign will soon be taken off.
© Martin Hellerbrand
The farmers are demonstrating loudly and visibly against the traffic light government's plans.
But even in silence - with their shoes hanging - they draw attention to their uncertain future.
Langenbach/ Zolling – In many places there are shoes dangling from the town signs – including in Allershausen, Niederhummel and Zolling.
This is a silent protest by the farmers who want to make a statement.
They fear that they will have to give up their profession as farmers if their demands on the government are not met.
“The campaign with the hung boots began shortly before Christmas when the topics of vehicle tax and agricultural diesel came up,” explains Ralf Huber, district president of the Bavarian Farmers’ Association, when asked by the FT.
The farmers were looking for a form of silent protest in these days.
According to Huber, it is no longer possible to understand who had the idea or where the first boots were hung.
Legally speaking, too much of a distraction
The communities react differently to the hanging footwear.
Zolling's mayor Helmut Priller, for example, announces that he wants to have the shoes on the Zolling town sign quickly removed by the municipal building yard - for purely legal reasons, as he states.
The law stipulates that no distractions can be tolerated on traffic signs.
The town sign's job is to signal that drivers now have to slow down to 50 km/h.
“If an accident occurs because of the distraction, the person responsible could be held responsible, but since the shoes were apparently installed in a cloak and dagger operation, they can no longer be identified,” explains Priller.
But the mayor lets it be known that he has every respect for the farmers and what they do.
“If farmers finally got a fair price for their work, they wouldn’t need any tax advantages.”
But he also says: “I don’t see any strong symbolism in the hanging shoes. I think there are better actions the farmers can take to draw attention to themselves.”
Going to the lost property office after almost six weeks: the boots on the Allershausen town sign.
© Miriam Kohr
Ralf Huber, himself an organic farmer in Allershausen, sees it completely differently.
“The boots that are symbolically hung up are an expression of the fact that many farmers will have to close their doors if nothing changes.
The boots are a form of expression of the grief that has accumulated over the last few years.” According to Huber, who thinks the campaign is “great,” there is a lot behind the dangling rubber boots.
However, he is aware of the legal situation regarding the signs, but he is still happy about every couple that is allowed to stay hanging for the time being - like in Allershausen.
Strong symbolism or dangling accessory?
The boots have been hanging there at the entrance to the town - coming from Freising - for almost six weeks, as Mayor Martin Vaas knows.
In solidarity with their town sign, the community gave the farmers a kind of “platform for protest” for weeks.
But here too it will soon be time to say hello to the kickers.
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“We will remove the boots next week and, depending on their condition, store them in the lost property office,” says the town hall boss.
“We hope that whoever needs the boots will pick them up again,” says the mayor with a smile.