Edeka has clearly positioned itself against the AfD with an election appeal. Some branch managers in the east of the country are now worried about their customers.
The food company Edeka has clearly spoken out against the AfD in an advertising campaign ahead of the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia. This is now facing opposition from within its own ranks. In several branches in eastern German states, branch managers are distancing themselves from the company’s actions. In various statements via Facebook and Instagram, local branch managers emphasize that they do not take a position on political issues and therefore do not want to support the parent company’s campaign.
“We can neither understand nor support why Edeka is commenting on political issues, and hereby clearly distance ourselves from it,” says a statement from “Nah und Gut” in Bockau, Saxony, which also belongs to Edeka. “Our stores are open to everyone and we run them as independent retailers for our community.” Commenting on political issues as a company endangers “our existence and jobs,” it continues. The company is “dependent on every customer.”
Similar and sometimes identical statements were made by the owners of Edeka stores in Halberstadt, Aschersleben and Zerbst, all three in Saxony-Anhalt. All three statements contain the sentence: “I am a food retailer, not a politician, and therefore I will not interfere in such issues with my store!”
Edeka and the anti-AfD campaign
The supermarket chain Edeka had shared a full-page appeal in the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”, in the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit” and on social networks. The ad is titled “Why blue is not an option at Edeka”. This is to be understood as an allusion to the AfD, which has used blue as its party color since its founding.
The advert shows numerous types of fruit and vegetables such as cucumbers, broccoli, bananas, cherries and strawberries. “The fruit and vegetable department is full of colourful variety,” the text says. “Evolution has taught us: blue is not a good choice,” it says. “In Germany, blue is already the biggest threat to a diverse society.”
The AfD reacted to the company’s advertising campaign. The deputy spokesman for the Thuringia state executive board, Torben Braga, thanked them for their “diligent support” in the election campaign. “Your customers, employees and suppliers also vote for us,” he wrote to Edeka.
Trade association HDE also criticises the AfD
The German Retail Association (HDE) also made a public statement this week. President Alexander von Preen called for the election of democratic parties. “I can only warn all actors against shifting the rules of society towards exclusion and hatred. This will not lead society and the economy into a positive future, but into a dead end,” he said.
According to the HDE, there are currently around 120,000 vacancies in the retail sector. “Where are all the people supposed to come from if politicians who rely on exclusion and isolation come to power?” asked von Preen. He described the AfD as dangerous and irresponsible: “With Björn Höcke, one of the AfD’s leading figures has once again unmasked himself when he wished bankruptcy to family businesses that publicly support a campaign for diversity in society and the economy.”
Von Preen is referring to the “campaign” initiated by more than 40 German companies. Participants include the drugstore chain Rossmann, the chainsaw and garden equipment manufacturer Stihl, the food company Pfeifer & Langen, the household appliance manufacturer Vorwerk and the audio specialist Sennheiser. Thuringia’s AfD top candidate Höcke had described the campaign as hypocrisy at an election campaign event in Sömmerda at the weekend, according to a report by MDR. “I hope that these companies will experience serious, serious economic turbulence,” he said.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
