Germans take to the streets to protest rising energy prices

10/31/2022 / By Ramon Tomey

Thousands of dismayed Germans took to the streets on Oct. 22 to protest rising energy prices, with demonstrations reportedly taking place in six cities.

State-owned broadcaster DW reported that the rallies – organized by the Berlin-based trade union ver.di and environmental activist group Greenpeace – occurred in the capital Berlin and the cities of Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Hanover and Dresden. The organizers estimated about 24,000 attendees.

Law enforcement in Germany, however, painted a different picture. According to their estimates, attendees in the Berlin, Hanover, Dusseldorf and Frankfurt protests did not go beyond 3,000 people. They also reported that the demonstrations were calm and peaceful.

DW also reported that several politicians from The Left Party – including Katja Kipping, Lena Kreck and Berlin’s Deputy Mayor Klaus Lederer – attended the protest in the capital, which was held at the historic Brandenburg Gate. Also participating were Friends of the Earth Germany Chairman Olaf Bandt and German Parity Welfare Association Co-Chair Ulrich Schneider.

Back in September, the German government unveiled a plan to provide aid to struggling German businesses and households. The proposal by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Economic Affairs Minister Robert Habeck and Finance Minister Christian Lindner will allocate up to €200 billion ($199.26 billion) to cap the rising energy prices beginning March 2023.

Andrea Kocsis, ver.di deputy federal chairwoman, remarked that the measure needs to be “oriented differently” so that it would be more clearly focused on Germans that need assistance the most.

“The government is doing a lot, but it is distributing funds with a watering can,” she said. “People with lower income need more support than the wealthy.”

Ver.di board member Sylvia Buhler, meanwhile, said more and more people were concerned about rising inflation, adding that they could no longer afford to pay for fuel and food. Schneider agreed, adding that Germany was in “the middle of its biggest crisis of the post-war period.” (Related: Germany’s economic minister warns of catastrophic economic collapse stemming from energy shortage.)

Armstrong: Calls for fossil fuel, nuclear power abolition misguided

According to the DW report, protesters who attended the rallies had different reasons for showing up. “Often, calls for the abolition of fossil fuels and nuclear power and demands for reduced electricity bills would sit side by side,” it said.

However, Martin Armstrong of Armstrong Economics criticized the misguided protests in an Oct. 25 piece.

“Unrest will grow as the winter approaches and prices rise,” he wrote. “It is important for protests to have a clear message. We can lower costs, but we can’t eliminate our dependence on gas at this time.”

The economist also zeroed in on Greenpeace’s calls “for lower energy costs by ending the global dependence on fossil fuels.”

“Those who are protesting to lower energy taxation and costs must realize that this can only be done using the resources that are currently available. There is no alternative to fossil fuel at this time that can be used on a grand scale to power the planet.”

Moreover, Armstrong blasted the €200 billion ($199.26 billion) aid allocated by Berlin to address Germany’s energy crisis. According to him, the money “is not enough to combat inflation mixed with the rapid decline in supply.”

Lastly, the economist put in his two cents on remarks by Lindner that Germany is in an “energy war” with Russia.

“What they do not realize is that this was a kamikaze mission, as far as energy is concerned,” Armstrong wrote. “Plans to punish Russia have backfired, and now the people will suffer due to mindless politicians who want to enter a grand-scale war for reasons unknown.”

Head over to Collapse.news for more stories about Germany’s energy crisis.

Watch this G News report about Germany and neighboring Austria reopening their coal-fired power plants amid energy shortages.

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