the far-right alternative for germany party may win the state election again, and the business community is worried about scaring off foreign workers and investors
2024-09-09
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after the far-right alternative for germany won the eastern thuringia state election and became the second largest party in saxony's state parliament, polls now show that the party is likely to win the brandenburg state election on september 22. the german business community has expressed concern about the rise of the far right, as it could "scare away" investors and workers.
according to a bbc report on september 8, current polls show that the alternative for germany (afd) party is leading the brandenburg election with 27% support, and germany is preparing for further political shocks. taking jämlitz and klein düben in brandenburg as an example, the bbc said that in these two villages with a population of less than 500, the support rate of the far right has soared. in the most recent local council election, 57.5% of voters supported the afd party, the largest proportion in the entire brandenburg state.
far-right anti-immigration rhetoric has made german businesses uneasy. politico, a us political news website, recently reported that the german economy needs both foreign workers and investors. the report said that the president of the german federal bank, joachim nagel, has repeatedly stressed the need to address the sharp decline in germany's labor force. according to the bank's estimates, by 2026, the number of workers lost each year due to retirement in germany will exceed the benefits it gains from immigration.
nagel is a member of the social democratic party (spd) led by german chancellor scholz. according to reports, nagel's allies in the german business community include blue-chip companies (i.e. companies with stable operating performance and high cash dividend payment capabilities) led by deutsche bank, siemens, and basf. in order to avoid the rise of the far right "scaring away" workers and investors, nagel supported a national campaign called "we stand for values" before the european parliament elections in june this year. deutsche bank ceo christian sewing said at the time: "investors are increasingly skeptical about what is happening in germany."
politico pointed out that the cologne-based institute for economic research conducted a study of companies and employer associations in 2023. the results showed that the threat of the rise of the far right will become more and more serious over time. although only 28% of respondents said that in the short term, the strong performance of the german choice party will make it more difficult to recruit foreign skilled workers. but in the long run, this proportion will rise to more than 60%.
"today, you can no longer imagine the (german) restaurant and hotel industry, nursing homes and hospitals without foreign workers," hannes walter, deputy chairman of the german social democratic party's bundestag economic committee, told politico. walter revealed that by the end of 2023, nearly one in six people paying into the german social security system will be foreigners.
politico cited an analysis by ratings agency scope ratings, saying the labor shortage problem is particularly severe in eastern germany. the analysis estimates that based on a slower immigration pattern, saxony's working-age population will fall by about 0.5% per year by 2030. thuringia's working-age population will fall by 1.1% per year, almost three times the national average.
but the afd argues that germany needs to focus more on making life better for its own talent. leif-erik holm, the party's economic spokesman, told politico that 270,000 skilled workers leave germany every year. most opponents (of the afd) and the bundesbank acknowledge this, but they have not come up with an effective alternative to immigration.
the paper reporter zhu runyu
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