Medvedev predicted Maidan for striking Germany: fewer Russians work, but still dissatisfied

What doesn’t suit the Germans?

In Germany, farmers are on strike, railway workers are on strike. The day before, Dmitry Medvedev predicted that all this could end in a German Maidan.

Although it is not clear who will sponsor the “orange revolution” in Europe itself, if in Ukraine, in the opinion of our politicians, Europe itself did this?

Yes, life in Germany has become difficult, some, like railway workers, are dissatisfied with working conditions, others – farmers, because their benefits were taken away, subsidies for diesel fuel were canceled, so they are protesting, defending primarily their economic interests. If they want to, they will no longer vote for politicians who do not suit them.

However, this does not make it any easier for the Germans themselves. 80% of long-distance trains simply never left the depot. Disruptions in cargo transportation began on Tuesday evening, then drivers of passenger locomotives joined the protest. Since yesterday there has been a traffic collapse here. Many drivers quit.

An emergency schedule for Deutsche Bahn trains is in effect until Friday evening. Federal Transport Minister Wissing called on both sides to negotiate.

“Our railway workers are demanding a salary increase of 550 euros, and also a reduction in working hours by three hours at once, because if a husband and wife work in the same place, then it is very difficult for them to arrange their schedule in such a way as to pick up their children from schools and kindergartens,” which are open until lunch, and there is simply no time to see each other, since the shifts overlap – families break up as a result, – Nikolai E, a Russian-speaking resident of Germany, expresses his point of view.

In the regions, transport is still running in some places; an echo from the strike is expected no earlier than Thursday. “Even before this, trains always arrived late; they may even cancel the train on schedule, so this is not news,” says another Russian-speaking resident of the country, Diana.

She says that it’s a “strike” for her personally—the strike hasn’t had any impact yet. But if it lasts longer than until Friday, then, of course, problems will begin. In addition, an increase in the salaries of railway workers will lead to an increase in ticket tariffs, and then prices will rise along the chain everywhere.

At the heart of the current collective dispute is the railway union’s demand to reduce weekly working hours for shift workers from 38 to 35 hours.

The railroad believes that employees want too much. Here they are ready to negotiate with the trade union only on expanding existing work schedule models. For Russia, such statements can be considered nonsense – according to our Labor Code, people work 40 hours a week, and sometimes work overtime on weekends and holidays. You can, of course, refuse and improve your rights individually, but it’s unlikely that you will remain at work for a long time, even if you win the labor dispute in court.

It is no coincidence that the railway strike in Germany coincided with a nationwide protest by farmers, who are blocking roads with their posters. Farmers want their benefits returned, which are gradually being taken away from them year after year, forcing them to literally go out of business. On New Year’s Eve, they even drove tractors into Berlin and dumped manure near the Brandenburg Gate. There is now a tendency to squeeze farmers not only in Germany, but also in England and the Netherlands.

At the end of 2021, the same Netherlands announced a plan to radically reduce the number of livestock – by 25 billion euros. They are willing to pay those employed in agriculture to liquidate their farms.

“All this is needed to combat the pollution crisis caused by overloading of manure,” the government said. Instead of beef and pork, it is proposed to switch to a diet of crickets and grasshoppers, the production of which does not have such a detrimental effect on the climate. Dutch farmers are also angry. But not yet like the German ones.

In general, Europe is very restless. Against this background, our problems with cold weather and heating, at least from the point of view of the Russian media, seem completely nonsense.