After the recent election successes of the AfD, warnings from the business sector are increasing that the party’s goals could endanger the domestic location. Entrepreneur Würth is now questioning investments in Germany.
The German-Austrian entrepreneur Reinhold Würth has put investments in Germany on hold following the gains of the AfD in the European elections. Würth stated in an interview with Deutschlandfunk that if this trend continues, caution must be exercised in where and how to invest. He mentioned that they will carefully analyze whether it would be more prudent to invest the money in other countries in the future.
The entrepreneur and billionaire, known as the „Screw King,“ had already taken a stand against the AfD before the European elections. In the spring, he urged his staff not to vote for the AfD. In the Hohenlohe district of Baden-Württemberg, where the headquarters of the Künzelsauer company is located, the right-wing populist party received 19.1 percent of the votes.
Würth warns against the AfD’s demands to deport people with a migration background, known as „remigration.“
The 89-year-old, whose company is a world leader in the production and distribution of assembly and fastening materials, estimates that around 30 percent of his staff originally come from abroad. If they were to be removed, it would be a „real catastrophe.“
Würth had previously threatened to relocate the operations of his Würth Group entirely abroad after investigations for tax evasion in 2008.
Woidke laments „huge uncertainty“
For a long time, economic and economic experts have warned of the consequences of a potential AfD economic policy. Threats of a „Dexit,“ meaning Germany’s exit from the EU, a departure from the Euro, and demands for „remigration“ would significantly harm the economic location of Germany.
With the good performance of the AfD in the European elections and the upcoming state elections in Thuringia, Saxony, and in his state, Brandenburg’s Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke also expressed „huge uncertainty“ for the economy. The SPD politician stated in an interview with Deutschlandfunk that against the election results of the AfD and the BSW, „stability and security must be established.“
He expressed concern that business owners were saying they no longer wanted to invest in Germany due to the AfD’s results. „But of course, this also has to do with conditions and frameworks. These are all things that we need to be concerned about.“