The debate began in October when a business association called Die Familienternehmer (The Family Entrepreneurs) invited AfD representatives to its parliamentary evening in Berlin for the first time.
In the words of its president, Marie-Christine Ostermann, the association thus lifted the national “contact ban” on the party, which is classified by Germany’s domestic intelligence agency as “far-right and partly right-wing extremist”.
“We family entrepreneurs do not want a government that includes the AfD,” it said on the organization’s website last week. However, “engaging in discussion with someone who thinks differently is not the same as accepting their positions. Talking does not mean working together.”
U-turn after pressure from members
Die Familienternehmer represents 180,000 family businesses in Germany, which together employ approximately 8 million people.
On Sunday, the trade group bowed to increasing pressure from its own members and politics at large, with Marie-Christine Osterman admitting on the association’s website that lifting contact restrictions “proved to be a mistake.”
“It turned out to be the opposite of what we wanted,” he wrote, adding that the invitation was intended to send a message to AfD lawmakers that his economic policies were “hostile to business and harmful to Germany’s competitiveness.”
Instead, he said, AfD’s statements created the impression that the association was legitimizing the party. “The opposite is true: We distance ourselves from extremists and will not allow ourselves to be co-opted.”
The association now plans to explore “other ways” to challenge the AfD while reaffirming its own values. “We will discuss this with our members in the coming weeks and months,” Osterman said in the statement.
Last week, several members of the trade group publicly objected to the association’s openness to talking with the AfD. For example, Berlin entrepreneur Harald Christ left the association. Last week, drugstore chain Rossmann also announced its withdrawal.
Home appliance manufacturer Vorwerk also said it intended to terminate its membership, which has been inactive for some time, and formally leave the association. “Vorwerk has distanced itself from the statements made by the association ‘Die Familienternehmer’ regarding its dealings with the AfD.”
Others said they were considering quitting. Melita Group said it was “very surprised” by the association’s change in position. It said it supports dialogue with politicians, but not with parties that have extremist elements.
Consumer pressure is increasing on German companies
One of the leading companies in Germany in terms of employee friendliness, stability and popularity among customers is the drugstore chain DM.
The company has not given any clear statement against AFD. Christoph Werner, chairman of the DM management board, told the German daily, “The DM rejects the polarizing firewall debate as decisively as it rejects the AfD party’s positions, which question the free democratic basic order.” pseudodeutsche zeitung Newspaper.
“How the association wishes to deal with certain aspects will be a matter for its members to decide,” the company said. The company said it had left the association several months ago and, therefore, is no longer part of the internal discussions.
DMs were ranked number one in customer popularity in a survey earlier this year, but now many customers are expressing dissatisfaction with Instagram. “So far everything has been good, but from now on, if you don’t take corrective action we are going to go our separate ways,” was one of many complaints. Without a clear stance from DM, many say they will take their business to rival Rossmann in the future.
Leading companies that don’t even belong to a trade association are feeling the heat. Users on Instagram have pressured Haribo to distance itself from the AfD as they pledged they would no longer buy its products. The candy manufacturer immediately clarified publicly that it is not a member of the association.
Other companies, such as Henkel, known as the manufacturer of Persil, have also faced pressure on Instagram with posts such as “Make a statement on the topic of Family Entrepreneurs Association/AFD now!”
Comparison of the 1930s amid criticism of business groups
The Green Party and the Christian Democrats (CDU) also issued sharp criticism, while the Verdi and DGB trade unions condemned the business association’s decision to invite AfD representatives to talks.
Vardy boss Frank Wernecke called on employers and trade unions to take a tough stance. “History warns us how important it is for the business community to clearly distance itself from right-wing extremists,” he told Funke Media Group, referring to historical parallels to 1933, when industrialists supported Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Party.
Anja Piel, member of the executive board of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), also called on members of Die Familienternehmer to clearly distance themselves from the AfD.
Asked by DW, the Federation of German Industries (BDI) said it has repeatedly criticized the AfD’s views as well as those of other radical parties. “We do not want active dialogue with representatives of radical parties like the AfD.”
Bakers Guild finds itself unfairly vilified
The Central Association of the German Bakery Trade said it believes a report published in a German tabloid newspaper has been misrepresented image,
In response to questions from DW, press spokesperson Meike Bennewitz stressed that the Bakers Guild rejects extremism of any kind. “We unequivocally condemn unconstitutional or extremist positions that divide society.”
He clarified that, upon request, members of parliament will be provided with information or position papers regardless of their party affiliation, but the association “will not actively contact parties on the political border and will not invite members of parliament from these parties to association events.”
The German Farmers’ Union said: “We (…) limit our behavior (with the AfD – edition) to the minimum required by the protocol. Our first points of contact are the governing parties at federal and state level.”
The Federal Association of Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA) called on 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 ground for exchange.”
AfD gets attention
While the arguments were fierce, the AfD party was pleased with the trade union’s proposal. AfD leader Alice Weidel said, “Negotiating with opposition representatives should definitely be a matter for the business community and small and medium-sized enterprises, especially when they are the strongest political force in the country according to polls.”
“Other representatives of trade, finance and small and medium-sized enterprises would also be advised to follow the example,” he said.
This article was originally published in German. The article was first published on 28 November and updated on 1 December to incorporate changes to the policy of Die Familienternehmer Business Group.
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