2024-09-24 01:03:13
Although the SPD remained the strongest party in Brandenburg, just ahead of the AfD, business representatives are concerned about one thing in particular.
In the state elections in Brandenburg, the AfD came in second place, just behind the SPD. Given the high approval ratings of 29.2 percent for a right-wing extremist party, many of the concerns previously expressed by the business community still remain: business representatives, associations and scientists fear for the appeal of East Germany as a business location.
Reint E. Gropp, the president of the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research Halle (IWH), told t-online: “Unfortunately, we can see that East Germany is becoming less and less attractive due to the AfD’s electoral success.” Foreign skilled workers would often prefer to take a job in West Germany. “This is really a problem for East Germany as a business location and this is also the AfD’s achievement – but it is also clearly the goal of this party,” said Gropp.
The need for foreign skilled workers is great. The Federal Ministry of Economics speaks of 400,000 people who would have to immigrate to Germany every year to meet this demand.
East Germany in particular has a particularly high demand, as many young people are moving away from there and jobs are left unfilled. “If this is prevented, the German economy will inevitably shrink,” says Gropp. A shrinking economy, in turn, could become a burden for everyone due to higher taxes and levies. What is needed is not less immigration, but strategic immigration, says economic researcher Gropp.
Nevertheless, the economist can also see something positive in the election results. “The economy can see very clearly that the AfD has not been able to prevail so far and that the western German states are currently much less susceptible to right-wing populism.” This brings calm and more confidence to companies. This, in turn, is reflected in the good performance of the DAX.
The IG Metall union, on the other hand, is issuing a clear warning about the political developments in Brandenburg. “The shift to the right in Brandenburg worries me deeply,” says Dirk Schulze, district manager for Berlin, Brandenburg and Saxony. “The strong position of the right-wing populists in the Potsdam state parliament is endangering democracy and threatening the future of Brandenburg’s industry.”
- You can find all the latest developments regarding the election here in the news blog
He does not elaborate on what exactly this threat looks like, but Schulze appeals to the democratic parties: “They must win people over to a social restructuring of the economy with constructive concepts for the future.” For IG Metall, this includes an active industrial policy and a strengthening of collective bargaining agreements.
The situation in East Germany is particularly tense in terms of industrial policy. The chip company Intel, for example, wanted to build a factory in Magdeburg with significant state support. Including suppliers, this would create around 10,000 jobs in the region. But the project is on hold for the time being; the use of the funds is being discussed in the traffic light coalition. Read more about this here.
In its election analysis, IG Metall also holds the employers’ side accountable. “Instead of working with employees to develop constructive concepts for the future, too many of them are relying on the same old pseudo-solutions: job cuts, site closures, relocations abroad. This plays into the hands of the right-wing populists,” says Schulze.
Association fears for economic achievements
The Eastern Section of the German Mechanical and Plant Engineering Association (VDMA East) also fears for the economic achievements of recent years. The entrepreneurs and board members Mathis Kuchejda and Alexander Jakschik said in the run-up to the election: “Industrial medium-sized companies have played a major role in this successful transformation in Brandenburg, because they are also at home in rural areas and are a key location factor there.” The two therefore demand: “That is why we need a state policy in the future that attracts investment and skilled workers and does not create a climate of fear.”