The Alternative for Germany (AfD) has a good chance of becoming the strongest party in the state elections in Saxony, Thuringia and Brandenburg in September. Contrary to this sentiment, East German companies also see the rise of the right-wing populist party as a risk. However, there are major differences in the public stance against the party.
According to an IW survey, East German companies also associate the AfD with risks. As in West Germany, companies here say their biggest concern is the question of the continued existence of the EU and the euro. Almost 60 percent of companies see a risk here. In the West, where there are significantly fewer “partly-partly” answers, the figure is almost 80 percent.
Even in the East, the proportion of companies that see opportunities in the long-term strengthening of the AfD in the various economic aspects surveyed is a maximum of around 13 percent. In addition, despite the party’s largely economically liberal program, just 29 percent of East German companies consider individual AfD positions to be sensible or fundamentally justifiable – compared to 22 percent in the West. “In view of the significantly better election and survey results and the more fragmented company structure in East Germany, we were surprised that the risk assessment of the AfD is almost as negative as in West Germany,” says IW study author Matthias Diermeier, summing up the results.
Hardly any supporters among East German companies
Not even five percent of companies in either East or West can be classified as clear supporters of the right-wing populist party. In contrast, every second West German company and 29 percent of East German companies publicly speak out against the party. In addition, another 15 percent in the West and 19 percent in the East speak out against the party internally. One reason for the less frequent positioning of East German companies can be found in particular in the widespread disappointment with the established parties.
About the methodology: For the study, the scientists surveyed around 900 companies in March and April of this year as part of the IW Future Panel, including managing directors, board members or heads of strategy departments in industrial companies or companies from industry-related services. Half of the survey was financed by the Federation of German Industries (BDI). The results of the survey were published in the Discussion Papers series of the Social Science Research Center Berlin (WZB).
