A showdown on the eve of the European Elections of 6-9 June from which the major agricultural organizations of the continent have withdrawn, and which – at least in the data – has disappointed the expectations of the rebellious Dutch spearhead Farmers Defence Force, gathering the participation of about 1200 protesters with 500 agricultural vehicles, only a fraction compared to the expected attendance of over 5,000 tractors foreseen beforehand.
A number nonetheless enough to fuel suspicion, in the Atlantic Council’s denunciation, of interference by Moscow, engaged in “stirring up farmers” – especially in Poland – to spread its anti-Kiev propaganda.
Tractors predominantly from Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, and Romania have gradually reached the Belgian capital, invading the north-western district of Laeken and lining up at the foot of the iconic Atomium monument built for the 1958 Expo. The “no to Ursula von der Leyen, to the Green Deal, to Mercosur, and to policies that kill farmers” was unanimously echoed by the protesters, accompanied on stage by the Flemish ultranationalists of Vlaams Belang, the Forum for Democracy of the rising Dutch populist Thierry Baudet, the Polish PiS and Konfederacja, and the Spaniards of Plataforma 6F close to Vox.
“The farmers are just the first victims of climate madness, then they will come for all of us,” declared the Belgian ultranationalist MP, Tom Vandendriessche, emboldened in Flanders by increasingly favorable polls – with Vlaams Belang at 27% – lambasting the “political establishment that tells us how to live and how to farm” and calling for “a rebellion at the polls.”
This message was also shared by the only Italian association present, Agricoltori italiani, led by Salvatore Fais, who in turn called for a change in the sector’s “destiny,” sending “a strong signal” to “Ursula and her friends” who “have tried in every way to make farmers slaves.” The main category associations distanced themselves from the protest action – which also reached the European Parliament headquarters with a small delegation of tractors without clashes with law enforcement.
In Italy, as Minister Francesco Lollobrigida also highlighted, the agricultural world has made it “very clear that this Government is on their side and is achieving record support” thanks to the contribution given in Brussels to implement protective measures at record speed, such as the recent reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.
“The far right has fed farmers with the lie that Europe and the Green Deal are responsible for their difficulties,” attacked Spitzenkandidat of the Greens, Bas Eickhout. The outcome of the protests will be shown at the polls between Thursday and Saturday.
