Saturday, August 7th, 2021
BDI finds SPD “disappointing”
German industry hopes in Jamaica
After the general election, German industry is relying on a black, yellow and green government. With the Greens, the BDI sees a tendency to “maneuver” the economy, but trusts them to be creative when it comes to future issues. Only the SPD fails completely in the analysis of the election programs.
The Federation of German Industries (BDI) criticizes the lack of factual discussion in the previous federal election campaign. “The so far weak substantive dispute in this election campaign worries the industry,” said BDI Managing Director Joachim Lang of “Welt am Sonntag”. International cooperation, climate change, digitization and the corona crisis are “huge challenges”. It is therefore “high time to get away from trivialities,” emphasized Lang.
Instead, intensive debates about the parties’ concepts “to strengthen the future viability and competitiveness of Germany as an industrial location,” demanded the BDI managing director.
The industry association compared the programs of the Union, SPD, Greens and FDP with its own agenda and implicitly pleaded for a Jamaica coalition. When comparing central BDI demands with the election manifestos, it emerged “that although the CDU / CSU and FDP are clearly closer to the economy, they form an interesting triple constellation with the Greens on key questions about the future,” said Lang. This applies, for example, to the expansion of renewable energies at competitive energy costs. “When it comes to implementation, however, the Greens are relying on government control rather than market-based impulses,” criticized the BDI managing director at the same time.
Not a good report card for the SPD
From the industry’s point of view, the Social Democrats do less well. “The SPD is undecided on numerous positions that are relevant to the economy,” said Lang. This is “disappointing, especially when it comes to issues that are important to industrial policy, such as the abolition of the EEG surcharge and digital approval procedures,” he added.
It was only on Wednesday that the BDI dealt extensively with the Greens’ immediate climate protection program. “A sedative pill for the regular green electorate is not enough for German industry to master the transition to a climate-neutral business location,” complained BDI Vice-President Holger Lösch. “The task of climate protection of the century requires staying power, not an actionist 100-day program.”
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