Calls for conversations with farmers
Steinmeier criticizes the credibility of the traffic lights
January 13, 2024, 1:21 a.m
According to surveys, citizens’ trust in the government is at an all-time low. This is particularly due to a lack of communication, says Frank-Walter Steinmeier. The Federal President also urgently recommends discussions when dealing with the farmers’ protests.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier criticized the federal government’s appearance in unusually clear terms. “If a government’s credibility declines, it is also due to the fact that decisions have not been sufficiently communicated or accepted or are being overshadowed by internal disputes that are leaking out to the outside world,” said Steinmeier to the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” (Saturday edition). “The government must have an interest in improving this.” The Federal President was reacting to surveys showing that citizens’ trust in the government is at an all-time low.
Steinmeier was also critical of how the farmers’ protests were handled. “Lack of speech between the federal government and the farmers harms everyone involved,” said the Federal President. In the current situation it is “urgently necessary for personal discussions to take place”.
Steinmeier pointed out that he had been moving his official residence “regularly out of Berlin for a few days to small towns that are not in the spotlight” for a long time. “Every year he meets farmers at the Harvest Crown and rural women in the federal states.” His goal is to take away the feeling from people: “No one is interested in us, we are not heard.” Sometimes it helps to “go there and say we want to hear you.”
In this respect, he believes “more presence in rural areas is actually urgently needed,” said the Federal President. In Germany, there is “an overall lack of sufficient recognition of those who are responsible for producing food and maintaining living conditions in rural areas.”