Enough is enough! Demonstration with 1,000 participants in Leipzig Videos

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The ver.di trade union, Die Linke and the “Leipzig Stands Together” alliance had called for a rally on 15 June at Leipzig’s Naschmarkt, followed by a march to the Volkshaus. By 5.30 pm, the rally venue had already proved too small; participants were packed shoulder to shoulder, though this did nothing to dampen the mood. The atmosphere could rightly be described as combative.

This was also expressed by the six participants who gave us brief statements. The statements show that the current policy of cuts is rejected by everyone. The speeches at the opening rally also made this clear.

Caro from the ver.di works council at the University of Leipzig set the tone for the rally right at the start of her speech: “We are here today because we’ve had enough. These are the most drastic cuts to the welfare state in over 20 years – since Agenda 2010 was introduced. We’ve had enough of daily new plans to dismantle or even abolish the welfare state. There are to be massive cuts to healthcare provision, the care budget is being slashed drastically, and support for children, young people and people with disabilities is at risk. Pensions are being increasingly privatised and protection against unfair dismissal is under threat. They even want to cut our continued pay entitlement when we’re off sick. The eight-hour working day is set to be abolished. We’re expected to work even longer hours and slog away until we retire. Enough is enough!

All of this leaves us exhausted, desperate and isolated. All of this makes it harder for us to stand up to other political agendas. And the far right is very good at exploiting this frustration to stir up sentiment against migrants, the unemployed and other vulnerable groups. But we know there is another way. We won’t let austerity break us, and we won’t let ourselves be divided. All the achievements of social movements over the past decades are at stake. We’ve had enough of some people making millions whilst others can no longer afford to live. Social cuts affect us all. Enough is enough!”

What followed were speeches that described precisely what Caro had outlined in condensed form. Whether it was the opening speech on the situation at the university, the problems at the Regional Directorate outlined by Daniel, or the conditions at the social security office described by Karin, everything made it clear that further cuts would bring about a social catastrophe.

Speaking on behalf of Die Linke, Tammo and Katja focused on defence spending, which they blamed for the planned cuts in the health, education and social sectors. Tammo concluded his speech by saying: “I am convinced that the school strikes, the demonstrations against rearmament and the madness of war, and the social protests are all part of the same struggle. Because every euro spent on military equipment is a euro spent not for us, but against us. We are standing here to say: down with the debt brake, and not a single person or cent for the Bundeswehr. 100 billion for education, health and social services!”

That was to become one of the slogans of the demonstration.

After this final speech at the starting point, the demonstration marched through the city centre, across the main station forecourt, along Goethestraße, past the Moritzbastei to the small Wilhelm-Leuschner-Platz, where an interim rally took place. The march then continued to the closing rally at the Volkshaus on Karl-Liebknecht-Straße.

All in all, it was a powerful demonstration which, according to the organisers, was merely the start of further protests against austerity measures. With 1,000 participants at the opening demonstration, this suggests a summer of heated protests lies ahead.