The rural rally is scheduled massively this afternoon in the Constitution, now (and) in store for operational challenges for the government. A three-digit number of tractors and agricultural machinery will pass the entrance of Athens and a large number of farmers will arrive in the city in dozens of buses, while members from 11 agricultural associations of Crete will travel by ship.
According to EL.AS, the buses that will transport farmers have been planned to park at the Olympic Stadium, modifications will be made to the routes and stops of the buses and trolleys, while traffic will be interrupted on the following streets: Amalias Avenue, Panepistimiou Street , on Vasilissis Sofias Avenue and all the vertical streets, on Vasilissis Sofias from the height of the Parliament and on the descent from Sekeri Street, while the vehicles that will move on Akadimias Street will only be directed towards the rise of Vasilissis Sofias.
They expected a split, but…
As much as Maximou bet on a split of the agricultural front in the last week, that is, after the consultations of representatives of the blocs and “institutions” under the prime minister, it is finally faced with the escalation. And she decided not to attempt to set up her own…block to the descent of peasants from all over the country to the capital, quickly overturning any such thought.
Moreover, there was concern that the government itself would automatically be charged with creating an explosive atmosphere and deadlock conditions.
After all, the farmers never turned off the tractor engines and, avoiding extremes, still have their claims recognized by the majority of society. Based on these, the government puts all the weight on the smoothest possible holding of the rally with a coordinated “march” of the protestors. The movement of the tractors will be accompanied by patrol cars with a specific route both from the Boiotia Castle and from Megara Attica.
“Performance”
The prime minister spoke of a “symbolic performance” in the center of Athens, a description that did not enthuse the farmers of the blocks, who insist on asserting their demands. He also estimated that this is the peak of the mobilizations – a step before the gradual de-escalation.
On the one hand, the farmers, who have been trying to coordinate as much as possible between them for weeks, want to see their short-term and medium-term claims through to the end. They consider the organization of a mass protest as a small victory for them and obviously do not want to turn society against them with their own actions. Their stance will be determined 48 hours after the protest gathering, given that they will maintain pressure on the relevant ministries even if the blockades begin to be withdrawn.
On the other hand, the government also banishes open confrontation with the agricultural world – a large professional group and a privileged audience for ND – and constantly insists on dialogue messages. At the same time, however, he closes any room for… expectation, declaring that the extraordinary benefits have been completed, as the priority is to ensure the execution of the Budget.
From 2025
Indicative is the commitment repeated by Mitsotakis (Star) for a debate concerning one of the institutional issues claimed by the farmers: a fairer mechanism for returning the Special Consumption Tax on oil. “There should be a permanent solution in consultation with the farmers,” said the prime minister, referring to the next year, 2025. “Our issue is,” he said, “how we can make the primary sector structurally more competitive.”
Another field in which the government stands and is even starting to include it in its pre-election rhetoric is the claims at the European level for the new Common Agricultural Policy. In the words of Mitsotakis, “when I go to Brussels to negotiate, I will say, you know, we also had demonstrations in our country, and from these demonstrations, especially in terms of bureaucracy and the speed of “greening”, to put it simply , i.e. the transition to a more environmentally friendly agriculture, there must be adjustments to the Common Agricultural Policy”.
Mitsotakis put it even more concretely last night speaking to a purely neo-democratic audience during an event of the ND Organizational Secretariat. “When the time comes to negotiate the changes to the Common Agricultural Policy I ask myself: which faction do you want to be strong with strong representation in the European Parliament? The ND, Europe’s proven faction, which knows how to negotiate and win for the benefit of the Greeks, or some others, whose European credentials are at best condescendingly questioned?’
Rally operation
It is clear that Maximou, under a lot of pressure politically and operationally in the last month, is launching a rallying campaign, worried by the threat of a protest vote in three-and-a-half months. Mitsotakis defines the loose vote as an opponent.
Yesterday’s references to the 36 billion euros of the Recovery Fund and the fact that the resources of the Common Agricultural Policy for the next programming period will not be reduced for Greek farmers are not accidental. “I want to repeat” he said “that this government has opened both its ears and its doors to the fair demands of farmers” and said that the bet of the upcoming Eurocalp is “perhaps more than ever a bet of participation”.
And through his televised interview, he characterized the European elections for the first time as a “national ballot box” which, as he emphasized, is not suitable either for a relaxed approach or for protest.
