{"id":601892,"date":"2025-11-29T19:26:28","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T19:26:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/601892\/"},"modified":"2025-11-29T19:26:28","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T19:26:28","slug":"german-firms-split-on-how-to-deal-with-far-right-afd-party-dw-11-29-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/601892\/","title":{"rendered":"German firms split on how to deal with far-right AfD party \u2013 DW \u2013 11\/29\/2025"},"content":{"rendered":"

To talk or not to talk with the\u00a0far-right and right-wing populist Alternative for Germany<\/a>\u00a0(AfD)? That is the question that is\u00a0dividing\u00a0Germany’s business community right now.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The debate was sparked back in October when a business association named\u00a0Die Familienunternehmer\u00a0(The Family Entrepreneurs) invited representatives of the AfD to its parliamentary evening in Berlin for the first time. In the words of its president\u00a0Marie-Christine Ostermann, the association thus lifted a national “contact ban”\u00a0on the party\u00a0that has been\u00a0classified as “far-right and partially right-wing extremist”<\/a> by Germany’s domestic\u00a0intelligence agency.<\/p>\n

“We family entrepreneurs do not want a government that includes the AfD,\u201d the organization’s website\u00a0states. \u201cThe AfD\u2019s worldview is incompatible with our fundamental beliefs in freedom and the market economy, which is why we family entrepreneurs do not shy away from debating the AfD\u2019s policies.”<\/p>\n

“Engaging in discussion with someone who thinks differently is not the same as accepting their positions. Talking does not mean working together.”<\/p>\n

Ostermann told the German public broadcaster\u00a0ZDF<\/a><\/p>\n

\"The time is ripe to talk to members of the AfD, says Marie-Christine Ostermann, president of the business association “Die Familienunternehmer” (The Family Entrepreneurs)Image: Kay Nietfeld\/dpa\/picture alliance<\/p>\n

that it was necessary to challenge the party on its policies. Its\u00a0popularity\u00a0could wane if people are shown that AfD politicians often have \u201cempty or contradictory\u201d policies despite their catchy slogans.<\/p>\n

Some members opt to exit the association<\/p>\n

\u201cFeedback from our members supports our decision,\u201d the association posted on Instagram, without giving detail on the extent of this support. Die Familienunternehmer represents 180,000 family businesses in Germany<\/a>, which together employ around 8 million people. There is no clear information about which German companies are members.<\/p>\n

However, some\u00a0members have publicly objected to the association’s openness to talk with the AfD. Berlin entrepreneur Harald Christ, for example, quit the association. On Tuesday, the drugstore chain Rossmann also announced its withdrawal.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Rossmann drugstore chain has quit the business associationImage: Michael Piepgras\/Zoonar\/IMAGO<\/p>\n

The household appliance manufacturer Vorwerk also said that it intended\u00a0to end its membership, which\u00a0has\u00a0been dormant for some time, and to formally leave the association. “Vorwerk distances itself from the statements made by the association \u2018Die Familienunternehmer\u2019 regarding its dealings with the AfD.”<\/p>\n

Others are considering leaving. The Melitta Group said it was “very surprised” by the association’s change in position. It supported dialogue with politicians, it said, but not with parties that have\u00a0extremist elements.<\/p>\n

Consumer pressure mounting\u00a0on German firms<\/p>\n

One of Germany’s leading companies in terms of employee friendliness, sustainability, and popularity with customers is the drugstore chain dm. The company has not made a clear statement against the AfD.\u00a0\u201cdm rejects a polarizing firewall debate just as decisively as it rejects the positions of the AfD party, which call into question the free democratic basic order,\u201d Christoph Werner, chairman of the dm management board, told the German daily\u00a0S\u00fcddeutsche Zeitung newspaper.<\/p>\n

“How the association wants to deal with certain parties is something it must decide with its members,”\u00a0the company said, adding that\u00a0it had left the association many months ago and was, therefore, no longer part of the internal discussion.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, dm was\u00a0ranked number one in customer popularity by a survey,\u00a0but now\u00a0many customers are voicing dissatisfaction on Instagram. The tenor of various statements: \u201cIt’s been nice so far, but from now on, we’re going our separate ways if you don’t take corrective action!\u201d Without a clear stance from dm, many say they will take their business to rival Rossmann in the future.<\/p>\n

Leading companies that are not even connected to the business association are also\u00a0feeling the heat. Haribo has been pressured by people on Instagram to distance itself from the AfD\u00a0amid pledges they will not buy its products anymore. The candy manufacturer was quick to publicly clarify that it was not a member of the association.<\/p>\n

Other companies, such as Henkel, best known as the maker of Persil,\u00a0have also faced pressure on Instagram, amid calls such as:\u00a0“Statement on the topic of the Family Entrepreneurs Association\/AfD now, please!”<\/p>\n

1930s comparisons amid\u00a0criticism of the business group<\/p>\n

Sharp criticism also came from the Green Party and the Christian Democrats (CDU.) The Verdi and DGB trade unions also criticized the business association’s decision to invite AfD representatives to talks.<\/p>\n

Verdi boss Frank Werneke called on employers’ and business associations to take a firm stance. He told the Funke Media Group: “History warns us how important it is for the business community to clearly distance itself from right-wing extremists,” he said, referring\u00a0to historical parallels with 1933, when industrialists supported the Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anja Piel, a member of the executive board of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), also called on Die Familienunternehmer’s members to clearly distance themselves from the AfD.<\/p>\n

When asked by DW, the Federation of German Industries (BDI) stated that it had repeatedly voiced criticism of the AfD’s views, as well as those of other radical parties. “We do not proactively seek dialogue with representatives of radical parties such as the AfD.”<\/p>\n

\"DeutscheDeutsche Bank also took a clear stance. According to information from Handelsblatt, it responded to an invitation from AfD representatives to attend a meeting of the association Die Familienunternehmer (The Family Entrepreneurs) at its premises and cancelled a contract for a future eventImage: Florian Gaul\/greatif\/picture alliance<\/p>\n

Bakers’ Guild sees itself unfairly pilloried<\/p>\n

The Central Association of the German Bakery Trade said it felt misrepresented by\u00a0a report published in the German tabloid newspaper\u00a0Bild. In response to questions from DW, Meike Bennewitz\u00a0emphasized that the bakers’ guild rejected any form of extremism. “We clearly condemn unconstitutional or extremist positions that divide society.” This meant\u00a0that, upon request, members of parliament would be provided with information or position papers regardless of their party affiliation, but the association would “not proactively approach parties on the political fringe and will not invite members of parliament from these parties to association events.”<\/p>\n

The German Farmers’ Association stated: “We […] limit our dealings [editor’s note: with the AfD] to the minimum required by protocol. Our first points of contact are the governing parties at the federal and state levels.”<\/p>\n

The Federal Association of Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA) called\u00a0on the AfD to draw a line in the sand against right-wing extremism and anti-European sentiment. “Until that happens, there is no reason to talk to each other. The same applies to the opponents of the market economy in the Left Party and the BSW. Here, too, there is no common basis for exchange.”<\/p>\n

AfD enjoys the attention<\/p>\n

While the arguments raged, the AfD party was pleased about the overture from the business association. “It should be a matter of course for the business community and small and medium-sized enterprises to seek dialogue with representatives of the opposition, especially when they are the strongest political force in the country according to the polls,” said AfD leader Alice Weidel<\/a>, adding that Die Familienunternehmer should be praised for their courage. “Other representatives of business, finance, and small and medium-sized enterprises would also be well advised to follow the example.”<\/p>\n

This article was originally published in German.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"To talk or not to talk with the\u00a0far-right and right-wing populist Alternative for Germany\u00a0(AfD)? That is the question…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":601893,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5310],"tags":[2000,299,1824],"class_list":{"0":"post-601892","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-germany","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-germany"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115634633613694443","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=601892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/601892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/601893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=601892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=601892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=601892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}