As of: March 29, 2024, 6:00 p.m
By: Michaela Sperer
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Impressive: Here are some of the many tractors that have their lights on in addition to the fire during the event. Many of the smaller vehicles with their posters and inscriptions are parked on the other side of Federal Highway 2. © private
Around 800 people from a wide range of sectors came to Murnau in 300 vehicles for the peaceful memorial fire on Maundy Thursday evening. Their appeal was to remain vigilant in the face of the current government's decisions. After all, the effects would now be felt by all citizens.
Murnau
- It's actually nothing unusual these days that fires are lit here and there. After all, it's Easter and it's a tradition. The “vigil against forgetting” by farmers, craftsmen, hauliers, other medium-sized businesses, nursing staff, pensioners and many more people dissatisfied with politics on Thursday evening on the B 2 near Hechendorf was not about Easter, but about looking forward to a positive future Development. It was a different kind of Easter fire, a fire that could be seen from afar and was intended to remind people not to forget the current political situation, all the decisions that are currently being made and that many people don't like. According to the organizers, it was about remaining vigilant and following these developments critically, even if protests of this kind are becoming fewer here in Germany at the moment. Developments that give no reason for optimism to the around 800 people who, according to the organizers' estimates, came from Landsberg to Murnau with their around 300 vehicles.
The memorial fire can be seen from afar and is lit on Thursday evening on a hill on the edge of the Murnauer Moos near Hechendorf. © Constanze Wilz
Of course, in the past it was also nice to meet up every now and then at the protest trips and numerous vigil fires and exchange ideas extensively. But now farmers in particular have to get back to their work. That's why the fire in Murnau may have been one of the last or even the last in the near future in the region. Those gathered only had a passing eye for the beautiful view from a hill over the Murnauer Moos. They stood together in groups around the fire and the tractors and discussed. Discussed heatedly. Talked about a variety of topics that concern them. It was about developments in Germany, for example uncontrolled migration, which in their opinion the country can no longer cope with, neither financially nor structurally. They talked about the shrinking and emigrating economy and the consequences, about dilapidated infrastructure, about the needs and problems of the clinics, the educators, the nurses, the pensioners, about the education of their children. They criticized the extreme price increases in recent years, which have pushed many people to the limits of their endurance. And they expressed their fears of a further escalation of the war in Ukraine. So these are definitely topics that don't just affect agriculture alone. In short: The people who met and meet at such peaceful vigils no longer understand the decisions of the politicians who are currently in charge. And that's their right to have a different opinion, they say, and they definitely don't want to be put in any “right-wing” corner for that. “But nobody differentiates here anymore,” says one of those present, frustrated.
He doesn't want to be completely unfair, says Christoph Lautner, one of the main organizers of the protests in Murnau and the region. A bit of movement has already taken place across Germany as a result of the ongoing protests in recent months. A lot of what was actually required, but not. “It was clear that the Federal Council did not stop the complete abolition of subsidies for agricultural diesel,” says the Seehauser farmer. “That was a sign from politicians that they would not allow themselves to be 'blackmailed' under any circumstances.” He is skeptical about the concessions and relief announced in return by Cem Özdemir, the Federal Minister for Food and Agriculture, among other things in terms of bureaucracy. “I won’t believe that until they are actually implemented.”
The ongoing protests by farmers in other countries – things are currently escalating in Brussels – have also had some effect at the EU level. For example, tariffs are to be raised again on imports of agricultural products from Ukraine, thereby making farmers in EU countries more competitive again. There was also a discussion about the forced closure of areas for nature conservation reasons.
What didn't really come across in Lautner's eyes during all these protests was that it was and is never just about the interests of agriculture, but rather about the interests of every individual. Only gradually did other medium-sized companies and people from other industries join the meetings. “I can’t really explain what that was about,” says Lautner. “The reports? Or maybe it's because they're not feeling bad enough yet, or because they're not getting enough and varied information? But everyone actually feels the direct effects of this policy firsthand.”