East-German companies and the far-right

Posted by Thomas Klikauer 

For months and ahead of the state elections, entrepreneurs in the former East-German states of Brandenburg, Thuringia, and Saxony increasingly fear an AfD electoral win and the possibility of facing a state government led by the neofascist AfD.  

Industrialists in the former East-German states of Saxony and Thuringia are expecting a sharp deterioration in their home states’ reputations. 

They also dread a subsequent decline of migrant labour that would bring much needed skills to their states if the AfD wins in these state elections. Overall, Germany’s labour market is increasingly defined by an acute labour shortage. 

And an AfD win in September would only add to this predicament. Which then puts employers in the former East-Germany in the pickles.

Nevertheless, only a few bosses are prepared to “explicitly” position themselves against the domineering AfD. The political climate in the former East-Germany is still defined by the far-right, neo-Nazis, and AfD-thugs. There are frequent attacks on democratic politicians, particularly in the state of Saxony.

According to a recent study on the labour market in the former East-Germany, non-EU workers accounted for 86% of the growth in job applicants between mid-2021 and mid-2023. 

Hence, in short, only 14% were German passport holders. Germany and in particular, the former East-Germany – suffering from an “East-to-West” migration during the last decades – needs migrant labour.

There are businesspeople in the former East-German area of Saale-Orla (AfD: 38%), for example, who openly oppose the AfD. 

Yet, they also think that their outspoken anti-AfD positions might prove unfavourable as they could be running the risk of not knowing if every second customer they encounter might potentially be an AfD sympathizer. Many small businesses can ill afford to lose too many customers over politics. 

However, the boss of a shop that sells and repairs electrical appliances for the past twenty years, located in the Thuringian town of Bad Lobenstein takes the risk of losing customers. He is convinced that he needs to oppose “inhuman ideologies” as for him, that weighs more than the business reasons. 

Ever since the popular “Baseball Bat Years” of the 1990s when far-right, hooligans, and adjacent neo-Nazis made their brutality known, the political atmosphere in the former East-German state of Thuringia remains tensed – even until today. 

Thuringia is also the home state of the AfD’s mini-Führer Björn Höcke. Since losing at a 2019 court case, Björn Höcke can “officially” be called a fascist. This is because a German court agreed with a statement made about Björn Höcke that he is a fascist.

In the last European elections, the neofascist AfD became the “strongest force” in Höcke’s Thuringia with almost 32% of voter support. 

Despite the atmosphere of fear, far-right attacks, and the electoral successes of Germany’s neofascists, some businesspeople are not afraid to talk to customers about the threat of far-right politics. While their business is to repair washing machines, at times, some clients certainly want to talk about politics.

Meanwhile and this applies even to debates inside family circles, making an anti-AfD position known in public and positioning yourself in this way takes real courage. 

Yet, not all openly oppose the AfD. Likewise, when a public TV station talked to entrepreneurs in the former East-German states of Saxony and Thuringia, many company bosses preferred to hold back in openly discussing party politics. 

However, there are companies in Saxony that are exceptions. One of which is a manufacturing company that is located about 40 minutes by car from Saxony’s capital Dresden. 

Many small and medium companies in the area produce sophisticated commercial goods that demands intricate and complex manual work. One company’s director is worried about the reputation of the region if the AfD wins.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Meißen, its mayor – Olaf Raschke – was elected with AfD’s support. The AfD received a whopping 37.5% in recent elections. While in 1932, Adolf Hitler got 37.3% – Germany-wide. Not much seems to have changed. 

In the meantime, far-right stickers are advocating “dynamo-hooligans” and this is not uncommon. Worse, the former neo-Nazi and now AfD candidate Rene Jurisch still fancies the so-called ‘Germanic traditions’ (read: Aryan Nazi ideology) while subscribing to the Nazi-esoteric of the cult of the “black sun”.

Back in nearby Dresden, local businesspeople believe that the xenophobic AfD can get into power or might gain even more power in the upcoming elections. In that case, businesses fear that this will massively damage the location of the region as a viable place to do business. 

Many international customers might not distinguish between Saxony (in the former East-Germany) and West-Germany’s Lower Saxony. 

Overall, the success of the label “Made in Germany” might even be in danger. And this leave Corporate bosses very concerned about the reputation of the entire former East-Germany region. 

In addition to individual companies, business associations as well are now also positioning themselves against the AfD. For example, bright pink posters – initiated by the “Verband der Familienunternehmer in Sachsen” – at Leipzig Airport read, “No Trip into the Blue!”. 

By the colour “blue”, the association of family businesses means the colour blue that the AfD has assigned to itself. Deceptively, the AfD uses “blue” instead of “brown” – the traditional colour of German Nazism.

Still, the association of family entrepreneurs in Saxony rejects the AfD. And they are not alone. For the first time in recent history, businesspeople are getting involved in an election campaign. 

Many do this also because in Saxony and Thuringia, Germany’s state police (the office for the protection of the constitution) has classified the AfD as “proven to be right-wing extremist”. 

Today, and this is in sharp contrast to 1933 when Germany was taken over by Nazism, many businesspeople believe that in a country like Germany with its specific Nazi history, a far-right party like the AfD should have never made a showing. For many businesspeople, the rise of the AfD is a significant menace.

Meanwhile, family entrepreneurs in Saxony take a stand against the AfD with a very public poster campaign. Yet, individual entrepreneurs hear disturbing stories from customers time and again about the AfD and their far-right goons. In one typical case, a black woman caregiver had been discriminated against simply because of her skin colour. 

A local bus driver refused to take her while her child was also harassed. After plenty of additional racist incidents, the family moved away from the region. These are not isolated cases – particularly in parts of the former East-Germany.

Unsurprisingly, businesspeople are worried that everyday racism, xenophobia, neo-Nazi attacks, etc. in the former East-Germany will drive people away. 

This will lead to fewer skilled workers who are willing to come to the former East-Germany in the future. This is a feeling that many company owners share. 

A recent report asked the business owners of about 200 companies located in the former East-German states of Saxony and Thuringia. 

According to this, a whopping 67% fear a strengthening of the AfD and that this will have a negative impact on their own company and the regional economy. In addition,  20% expect a decline in jobs under an AfD-led state government.

Worse, a massive 77% fear an exodus of skilled workers and 90% dread a loss of the reputation of their home state. 

Meanwhile, Germany’s “Commissioner for the East” stresses how important skilled workers from abroad are for the domestic economy. 

The commissioner, too, fears that if the election results in the upcoming state elections reject openness, tolerance, and democracy and support a return to the nationalistic-chauvinistic ideology, it would send a signal to people around the world not to go there. 

To all of this, the AfD’s Saxony and Thuringia state-run outfit stated, it is not the AfD that scares off skilled workers, but the exorbitant tax burden and the bureaucratic jungle [and] the old parties make our country unattractive for them. 

However, the very opposite is the case. And this is supported by, for example, economic studies conducted by highly reputable centre for European economic research at Mannheim University. 

Contrary to the AfD propaganda, current research shows that regions and cities wherein right-wing populist parties hold power, these areas experience hard times economically – compared to other regions. 

There are studies from Italy and Austria that show what happens to the areas when right-wing populist mayors get into power. These areas see that fewer skilled migrants with an international background are moving to these cities and municipalities. 

As a consequence of such well-founded anxieties, many companies, businesspeople, and entrepreneurs want to fight against the image of the supposedly “brown East” (run by neo-Nazis) before the upcoming regional state elections. 

They seek to stop the AfD in its tracks and before irreversible damage is done to the former East-Germany states of Saxony, Thuringia, and Brandenburg where state elections are scheduled for September 2024. 

By mid-August, the AfD was sitting at 29% in Thuringia; Brandenburg: 24%; and Saxony: 31%. In all three states, the neofascist AfD remained the strongest party.

Born on the foothills of Castle Frankenstein, Thomas Klikauer (PhD) is the author of a book on “The AfD” plus more than 1,000 publications.

Photo: (source: tagesschau.de)

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