Sunday, September 26, 2021
“Rejection to links alliance”
Economy warns of a hangover like 2017
Leading business associations see the election result in the federal government as a rejection of a left-wing alliance. At the same time, they warn of weeks of coalition negotiations – otherwise, according to ZDH boss Wollseifer, a recovery of the economy would be slowed down.
The foreign trade association BGA has seen the result of the federal election as a clear decision of the voters “against a left-wing alliance”. Now it is up to the elected to forge an alliance that “resolutely tackles the overdue decisions,” said the President of the Federal Association of Wholesale, Foreign Trade and Services (BGA), Anton Börner, in the evening. This included the fight against climate change “with speed and a sense of proportion” as well as a “smart reform of corporate taxation”.
What is also needed are “finally more digitization” and flexibility on the labor market and in terms of working hours, continued Börner. Last but not least, the new federal government must work for open markets and worldwide free trade. The President of the Association of Family Entrepreneurs, Reinhold von Eben-Worlée, declared that a red-red-green alliance would be the “worst-case scenario for the future of Germany as an industrial location”. He therefore called it a “very good sign of stability that red-red-green is apparently not an option”.
A majority for an alliance of the SPD, the Greens and the Left Party was questionable in the evening. The craft warned of weeks of coalition negotiations. This must “be avoided if a recovery in the economy is not to be slowed down,” said the President of the Central Association of German Crafts (ZDH), Hans Peter Wollseifer, on the evening of the election. A negotiation phase that was just as long as in 2017 “is the last thing our operations and companies need in these uncertain times”.
It is the companies and employees “especially in the craft sector that are urgently needed in order to implement the future tasks of climate protection, the energy and mobility transition, digitization, demographically adapted housing, and health care,” continued the ZDH President . Therefore, politicians must “avoid anything that weakens the substance of the company”.
The digital association Bitkom called for digitization to be placed “at the top of the political agenda”. The new federal government has the task of “strengthening the economy and leading Germany into the digital future”. The Bitkom Association also called for rapid explorations – a “hanging game” like 2017 should not be allowed to repeat itself, which at the time “cost valuable time”.