Hardly any entrepreneur takes such a clear stand against the AfD as Harald Christ. He says: The party is already doing enormous damage to the country.
Mr. Christ, you were the first well-known manager and entrepreneur in Germany to take a very clear position against the AfD last year. Some companies have now agreed, but many prefer to adhere to the principles of democracy in the abstract and shy away from open confrontation with the party. Do you actually still feel lonely in your struggle?
Always less. A lot has changed since last summer. Many entrepreneurs, board members and managers have clearly spoken out. Just two examples: Volkswagen and Deutsche Bank. VW CEO Oliver Blume even spoke at one of the demonstrations – unimaginable a year and a half ago. And Deutsche Bank boss Christian Sewing has also made clear statements against the right on several occasions. That’s encouraging. And that is necessary.
What is striking, however, is that many CEOs and entrepreneurs shy away from explicitly opposing the AfD. Can you understand that?
Of course, as entrepreneurs you cannot ignore the fact that you may have employees or customers who sympathize with the AfD. That’s why I understand that companies deal with this very differently and that some generally don’t express themselves in party politics. But a clarification is also very important to me…
Source: Stern
