Lambertz boss criticizes politics
“We Germans are not suitable as value providers for the world”
November 17, 2023, 4:43 p.m
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China bashing, Trump complaining, reservations about Islam: Aachen confectionery entrepreneur Hermann Bühlbecker warns that the German economy is suffering unnecessary damage by rejecting politically dissidents. In the ntv podcast “Biz & Beyond” he says: “I think politics and business should see their separate paths for now.”
Christmas peace? Not really. Hermann Bühlbecker, owner of the Aachen-based Lambertz Group and world market leader in Christmas cookies, criticizes the economic sanctions currently being discussed against China and other countries. “In political life there are always friends and opponents,” says Bühlbecker in the ntv business and success podcast “Biz & Beyond”. It is “dangerous if you now basically say, I don’t deliver to China or I don’t want products from there.”
And addressed to the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock: “I don’t think it’s a good thing that a German foreign politician goes around the world telling people everywhere what’s good and what’s bad,” said Bühlbecker. Politics and economics should go their separate ways: it will not be possible to impose a different world order on people who live according to Islam. “We as Germans should be careful about walking around the world as value givers, so to speak, because we also have our history,” warns Bühlbecker.
Photos with Trump and Putin
Bühlbecker, who brings together several traditional brands such as Printen, Lebkuchen and Stollen in his group of companies, likes to appear with celebrities – including politicians. Photos also show him with former US President Donald Trump and Russian head of state Vladimir Putin. Proximity to decision-makers from politics and showbiz has been part of his PR strategy for years. Bühlbecker says: “I think it’s a shame if you always base your economic contacts on political trends. That’s not how economics works.”
Like many other German companies, the Lambertz Group is suffering from increasing problems. “It is now very difficult to produce in Germany.” The location is being viewed increasingly critically by many entrepreneurs.
However, he rejects relocations abroad, for example to the USA. Even if he would benefit from significantly cheaper energy prices and better conditions there. “We live from heritage,” says Bühlbecker. If you sell your goods in the USA as European and German products, then you also have to produce them here. “Otherwise they are basically American products. And that loses a little charm for the American consumer.”
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