Political Orientation and Farmers’ Protests in Germany

In early 2024, German farmers took to the streets to voice their discontent with the current situation in the agri-food system. The protests attracted considerable attention by the public, often portrayed to be undermined by far-right groups. In this study, we analyse whether reasons to protests are associated with farmers’ political orientation. We conducted an online survey with over 300 German farmers that elicited farmers’ reasons to protest with an open-ended question and their political orientation (left-right scale). We find that 63% of farmers self-categorize into centre-left (with the majority being centre) and 37% as being centre-right. Our analysis reveals distinct differences between political groups. Centre-left individuals frequently use terms like ‘government’ and ‘must’, whereas centre-right farmers favour words such as ‘state’, ‘green’, and ‘bad’. Additionally, while both groups are concerned about bureaucracy, centre-left farmers focus more on grievances related to future prospects and public goods, while centre-right farmers emphasize community issues and general protest motives. These findings have important implications with potential to improve the effectiveness of policy responses.