Companies expect to position themselves against the AfD

In a study, the German Economic Institute asked German companies whether they saw it as the responsibility of companies and associations to position themselves against the AfD party. With regard to companies, 51% of West German and 42% of East German companies agree with this statement. 58% of West German and 51% of East German companies expect associations, guilds and chambers to take a position against the AfD. “For many companies, concerns about this party outweigh the risk of expressing themselves politically,” explains IW democracy expert and study author Matthias Diermeier. “The radicalization of the AfD is the reason for the end of companies’ abstinence from party politics. Because unlike other parties, it poisons the political culture and undermines the free-democratic basic order.”