German businesses speak out against far-right AfD

With the German election set for Sunday, leading companies are taking a political stance against right-wing extremism and in favor of diversity. In recent weeks, the heads of Deutsche Bank, Mercedes-Benz, Siemens and other companies have made their positions clear.

"Xenophobia, hatred, antisemitism of any kind, and extremism are in clear contradiction to the values of Mercedes-Benz," Eckart von Klaeden, head of External Affairs at Mercedes-Benz, told DW.

Some associations and companies, such as the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA) and the Dortmund-based scaffolding company Bönniger Gerüstbau, have even explicitly spoken out against the far-right-populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.

In other countries, it is not uncommon for companies to air their views on party politics, and perhaps even make election endorsements, but this is not the case in Germany.  

"Companies have traditionally stayed away from party politics in Germany, as have associations for the most part," said Knut Bergmann from the German Economic Institute (IW). He said Germany had never seen companies explicitly speaking out in favor of, or against particular parties — as has happened recently in several advertising campaigns. 

A rethink sparked by AfD gains

The recent trend of companies and associations ditching their traditional political neutrality has come in response to the rise of the AfD party. 

Ahead of the European elections and state elections in Thuringia, Saxony and Brandenburg, numerous companies spoke out. Bosch, Mercedes-Benz, Bayer and more than 30 others founded the "We stand for values" alliance to publicly speak out against extremism and in favor of respect, tolerance, openness and diversity. More than 80 family businesses got involved in the "Made in Germany — Made by Diversity" campaign.

A growing trend

The entrepreneur Reinhold Würth, whose screw company Würth Group is the global market leader, even wrote a letter to his 25,000 employees ahead of the European elections warning them not to vote for the AfD. 

The supermarket chain Edeka, meanwhile, published an advert entitled "Why blue is not an option at Edeka" (blue is the AfD's party color).

And these are not isolated cases: In a 2024 survey, Bergmann survey questioned more than 900 companies. He found that every second western German company and every fourth eastern German company stated that they had publicly positioned themselves against the AfD. 

The AfD party is particularly successful in eastern Germany, attracting wide support in the states that previously made up East Germany before Reunification. 

AfD poses risk to economy

But why are companies suddenly speaking out politically? The answer is most likely economic, said Alexander Kritikos from the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW): "Companies are afraid of their home location being disadvantaged and investments declining."

A Commerzbank spokeswoman told DW that economic reasoning and values go hand in hand when it comes to taking a public stance. "In our view, fear, protectionism and division are not a solution to the pressing issues of our time," she said, adding that Germany as a business location relied on the immigration of skilled workers. 

Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius told DW that economic prosperity is the basis for prosperity, stability and security. "At the same time, you can only be economically successful in the long term if you have a common set of values."

Källenius had previously complained that issues were getting mixed up in the current debate: "Illegal immigration is not the same as attracting skilled workers to the country. We need the best minds to ensure growth." He emphasized that "moving forward with the economy does not mean moving backwards in terms of values."

A danger for Europe?

In addition, 77% of business leaders in Germany see the rise of the AfD as a risk "to the existence of the European Union and the euro." This was revealed in an IW report that explored the consequences of the rise of right-wing populist parties. 

Stefan Wintels, CEO of the state-owned development bank KfW, says that while his bank does not comment on party politics, they "firmly believe that the future lies not just in Germany, but in Germany within Europe." Isolationism and xenophobia would not only harm the economy but also German society, he told DW. 

KfW is joining 14 other signatories, including Deutsche Bank, ING and Frankfurter Sparkasse, in a joint appeal ahead of the election. They are speaking out in favor of safeguarding Germany's liberal democratic basic order, as well as ensuring a strong, tolerant and cosmopolitan country.

US firms cozy up to Trump

Companies in the US are increasingly moving closer to President Donald Trump. US corporations such as Meta and McDonalds have scaled back their diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs. Could a similar pattern repeat itself in Germany in the near future? 

"This is, of course, very speculative and difficult to say, but I think the migration issue is too pressing here in Germany," said Kritikos. The fact that companies urgently need skilled workers from abroad remains a key issue, he added.

DW asked Commerzbank whether it could pledge that it would not move closer to the AfD, even if the party were to go form the next government. The bank left the question unanswered. 

A spokesperson for Mercedes-Benz told DW that the group did not wish to speculate on the participation of individual parties in government, but would hold fast to its corporate values in the future: "We will continue to represent these values — also when dealing with the future German government." 

This article was translated from German.