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German industry: Far-right populism harms business and destroys jobs


German business against the far-right

Edeka (Germany’s leading retailer): “We love diversity and stand up against the far-right.” The retail chain emptied an entire supermarket and only left products produced exclusively in Germany. The result: astonished customers walking through a supermarket with almost empty shelves.


August 2024: New state parliaments will be elected in Saxony and Thuringia on 1 September 2024 and, according to forecasts, it is likely that the far-right AfD (Alternative for Germany) will become the strongest party in both parliaments. Even if the right-wingers do not become part of a governing coalition, their successes would further divide the populations and lead to a loss of image both nationally and internationally. Companies in both states are already aware that foreign business partners regard the developments with incomprehension. Foreign skilled workers have also expressed unease and fear.

 

The business community in Saxony fears that the latest AfD poll results will damage the state's image. "We have to remember that we are dependent on the best minds worldwide - in science as well as in industry and the skilled trades," said Sylvia Pfefferkorn, deputy spokesperson for the association ‘Wirtschaft für ein weltoffenes Sachsen’. She added that it was becoming increasingly difficult to attract people to Saxony as a place to live.

 

Some companies have taken a clear stance against right-wing extremism. For example earlier this year, the retail giant Edeka published a video on its Instagram channel with the message: "We love diversity and stand up against the right.” The company emptied an entire supermarket for the video and only left products produced exclusively in Germany. The result: astonished customers walking through a supermarket with almost empty shelves.

 

In addition to Edeka, other well-known companies such as Siemens, Adidas, Telekom and Zalando have taken a clear stance against right-wing extremism and warned against it. Some smaller companies are also taking a stand against right-wing extremism and the AfD - and sometimes quite creatively. For example, the Cologne brewery Malzmühle - a 160-year-old family brewery that is now in its fifth generation - has posted an online advertisement with the slogan "Only our bottles are brown".

 

Germany’s Labour Minister, Hubertus Heil, called on the business community to take a stand against the right. Heil told journalists that he was happy to hear from any business representative who took a clear stance against the AfD and Nazis. "We are an open society, and our economic success is also based on this." Germany is not an island. "Our economy is internationally networked. This is another reason why we cannot afford racism and nationalism," warned the Social Democrat (SPD) politician. "Qualified skilled workers, who we urgently need to attract to Germany, will only come if they can be sure that they will not be marginalised or even threatened here."

 

The President of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Siegfried Russwurm, also warned against the AfD. As an exporting country, Germany benefits more than almost any other from cosmopolitanism, international cooperation and trade as well as European unification.

 

Saxony’s association of medium-sized companies told reporters that this was the first time they had intervened in an election campaign. "We can't believe that in Germany, with our history, an extreme right-wing party like the AfD can even find voters."

 

 

The report 'Report Mainz' by Germany’s national news channel Tagesschau spoke to 30 medium-sized and large companies in Saxony and Thuringia. According to the programme, some 67 per cent of companies expect the rise of the AfD to hurt their own business and the regional economy. Some 20 per cent believe that an AfD-led state government would lead to job cuts. In such a scenario, 77 per cent of businesses fear a brain drain and 90 per cent a loss of image.

 

In a separate study, the Mannheim-based research institute ZEW (Leibniz Centre for European Economic Research) investigated how right-wing populism affects the mobility of German and foreign skilled workers. The authors found that cities and regions in which right-wing populist parties and movements enjoy broad support are at a disadvantage when it comes to attracting domestic and foreign skilled workers.

 

Sources: ARD/Tagesschau/Report Mainz; Bundesministerium für Arbeit und soziales; Edeka, Wirtschaft für ein weltoffenes Sachsen; Bundesverband der deutschen Industie; Brauerei Malzmühle



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