Before the state elections in Thuringia, AfD leader Höcke once again lashed out at the German middle class. He said he would “do the same thing again at any time” when he wished for their decline.
Erfurt – The Thuringian AfD top candidate Björn Höcke has defended and repeated his harsh statements about German family businesses. “I would do that again at any time,” the politician told the broadcaster on Friday (30 August) World TV. At an election campaign event last weekend in Sömmerda, Höcke sharply criticized a group of family businesses that had launched a campaign called “Made in Germany – Made by Diversity.”
Höcke causes a stir with statements: Campaign doubles in a short time
The campaign stands up for democratic values and against populism and xenophobia. It was launched in 2019 and is supported by numerous well-known German companies. These include Braun, Fischer, Fiege, Gröning, Lapp, Miele, Rossmann, Sennheiser, Stihl, Trigema, Voelkel and Vorwerk. As the founding company Vorwerk announced this week, Business Week says: “In just over a week, the number of companies has doubled to more than 70.” And more companies are joining every day.”
The reason given for the increase is Höcke's statements, which are now being opposed by more and more medium-sized companies. Höcke described the campaign as “pure hypocrisy” and added: “I hope that these companies will experience serious, serious economic turbulence.” He indirectly called on his supporters to stop buying products from these companies.
Höcke repeats statements – and criticises Miele, Vorwerk and Stihl in particular
In conversation with World TV He stuck to his guns and named three of the companies involved specifically: “I have Vorwerk, Miele and Stihl, who are hypocritically claiming 'Made in Germany' for themselves, even though they are not 'Made in Germany' and even though they are not 'Made in Germany'.” His statement about the turbulence should lead “to them coming to their senses,” Höcke explained.
He finds it “disgraceful of medium-sized companies that are leaving Germany because energy prices are exploding, because bureaucracy is excessive, because the tax and levy burden is more immense than in any other country, and then against the only party that is speaking out and creating a mood and investing money, which is promoting medium-sized business-friendly policies,” the right-wing politician continued. That is why he “also made a clear statement in an election campaign speech.”
However, companies based in Thuringia have also spoken out and warned against the AfD. The Thuringian company Maximator Hydrogen, one of the leading providers and developers of hydrogen filling stations, fears that an AfD election victory could not mean good conditions for the expansion of hydrogen. The AfD election manifesto shows that the party is critical of the expansion of hydrogen, especially the production of green hydrogen.
Industry president accuses Höcke and his AfD of “incompetence”
The AfD believes that hydrogen is only suitable for meeting energy needs in a limited region. It questions the idea of a nationwide hydrogen infrastructure. “In the worst case, that would mean that we would have to leave the Thuringia site, relocate our business and start up somewhere else,” said CEO Matthias Kurras in an interview with Business Week.
Among others, the President of the Federation of German Industries (BDI), Siegfried Russwurm, sharply criticized Höcke after the election campaign speech. “The fact that someone who wants to become Prime Minister wishes economic damage to successful and loyal medium-sized companies is evidence of the party's incompetence in this field,” he said. He described statements by top AfD representatives in general as “alarming for the economy.” According to current polls, the AfD could become the strongest party in the state in the election on Sunday (September 1st) with 30 percent.
Companies fire back: Höcke is “unpatriotic”
I am Handelsblatt Marie-Christine Ostermann, President of the Association of Family Business Owners, also mentioned this in a guest commentary. “How unpatriotic Björn Höcke must be – and this despite the fact that the AfD likes to portray itself as a patriotic party – if he wishes economic decline for family businesses, the backbone of the German economy,” she writes.
“To put it clearly: Thuringia and Saxony are on the brink of economic catastrophe in these state elections,” said Ostermann. The shortage of skilled workers will hit Thuringia and Saxony hard due to demographic change. Ostermann calculated that soon one in four jobs in Thuringia will be unfilled, and by 2033 one in five employees in Thuringia will be retiring.
Edeka also gets involved: Call for elections in Thuringia
The large supermarket chain Edeka has therefore also clearly positioned itself in the week of the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia. The company published a full-page appeal in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitungin the weekly newspaper The time and on social networks. The ad is titled “Why is blue not an option at Edeka?” This is an allusion to the AfD, which has used blue as its party color since its founding.
The advert shows numerous types of fruit and vegetables such as cucumbers, broccoli, bananas, cherries and strawberries. “The fruit and vegetable department is full of colourful variety,” the text says. “Evolution has taught us: blue is not a good choice,” it says. “In Germany, blue is already the greatest threat to a diverse society.” (with AFP and dpa)
