Angry farmers and truck drivers organised sporadic but short-lived protests around Germany yesterday with the real row over the price of fuel taking place in the federal parliament in Berlin.
Hundreds of German truckers, farmers and taxi drivers organised a blockade and go-slow in the northern city of Hanover yesterday, while farmers in the north-eastern town of Lingen blocked access to an oil refinery for an hour. Separate protests took place at oil refineries near Hamburg and the North Sea port of Wilhemshaven.
German trucker groups have organised a national day of protest against high fuel prices later this month in Berlin but have so far acted cautiously in comparison to elsewhere in Europe. Under German law, they would have to pay hefty compensation to those inconvenienced by any prolonged blockades.
The Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schroder, has refused to reduce fuel taxes and has accused the opposition Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of recklessly encouraging the protesters.
CDU party members took to the streets of Berlin yesterday distributing bumper stickers and pamphlets calling for cheaper petrol. The average price of a litre of premium unleaded in Germany rose by four pfennigs (almost 2 p) on Wednesday to more than DM2 (80 p) a litre, of which 68 per cent is a combination of sales tax and a recently introduced "eco-tax".
The federal government, which includes the Green Party, has ruled out scrapping the "eco-tax" that was introduced last year in an attempt to reduce fuel consumption. The unpopular tax has added 12 pfennigs (5 p) to the cost of a litre of petrol in the last two years, with another increase in the tax planned for early next year.
"We have to make the use of our resources, especially energy, more costly", Mr Schroder said on German television.
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