German businesses begin dismantling the political firewall against the AfD

Many sectors within the German economy are increasingly open to cooperation with the AfD.

According to a report in the online magazine The Pioneer, cited by German Foreign Policy, the association “Die Familienunternehmer” (“The Family Entrepreneurs”), which is predominantly composed of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is now inviting Alternative for Germany (AfD) deputies to its “parliamentary evenings.” The association states, “We are bidding farewell to firewalls.”

In the SME sector, for example in Saxony, “one in every two entrepreneurs” now sympathizes with the AfD, particularly because the party presents a business-friendly stance, much like the Free Democrats (FDP) once did.

Even large corporations say they have “no fundamental reservations about the AfD.” If the party enters government, cooperation could happen “very quickly.”

The collapse of the “firewall” in the European Parliament (EP) last week is a positive development “for the European economy,” as stated by Manfred Weber, leader of the majority “center-right” European People’s Party (EPP).

The AfD is in the process of mitigating a central obstacle to coalition-building—its proximity to Russia—and is instead shifting towards cooperation with a potential Trump administration.

Anti-AfD reactions from the business world before the elections

Shortly before the federal elections on February 23, 2025, two influential think tanks of the German economy had taken a clear stance against the AfD.

Marcel Fratzscher, president of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), rejected the AfD’s proposal for “€181 billion in tax cuts per year,” which he said could only be financed by “a massive national debt.”

The Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW) also wrote that the AfD was still considering leaving the euro and even the EU (“Dexit”). However, the cost of a Dexit would reach 5.6% of real gross domestic product after just five years, totaling approximately €690 billion, and “the economic consequences of leaving the single currency would be added to this.”

Another problem was the “effect of the AfD on potential immigrants,” who were necessary to offset the “demographic crisis.”

According to the IW, entrepreneurs gave the AfD a direct ‘F’ grade on energy policy: they did not find the combination of dismantling wind turbines, reintroducing nuclear energy, and tax cuts for the repair of Nord Stream 2 convincing.

AfD replaces the FDP before the CDU

Meanwhile, the mood is beginning to change within the association structures of the German economy, which are dominated by SMEs, if not in the think tanks.

This is the case, for example, with Die Familienunternehmer, an association composed mainly of medium-sized companies but also including large corporations from Oetker to Merck and BMW.

Albrecht von der Hagen, the association’s managing director, recently organized a parliamentary evening in Berlin for AfD members of the Bundestag, stating, “This firewall against the AfD… has achieved nothing. … We are bidding farewell to firewalls.”

Mathias Hammer, an entrepreneur from Saxony, is considering voting for the AfD in the next election and says that “one in every two entrepreneurs” in his state sympathizes with the AfD.

The reason for this is that the party shares many views with the FDP, which has worn itself out in the “traffic light” coalition (SPD-Greens-FDP).

The association quotes AfD leader Alice Weidel as saying: “We are also increasingly noticing that business representatives who previously pinned their hopes on the FDP for a sensible economic policy are now turning to us.”

Nearly one-third of voters who left the FDP voted for the AfD on February 23.

Increased dialogue with the AfD

Sympathy for the AfD in the business world is still limited. On one hand, this is related to its policy platform.

According to von der Hagen, the AfD’s demand for a 70% pension level is “unaffordable.” The party’s goal of forcing women “back to the kitchen” also means the “end” for businesses, most of which depend on female employees. For this reason, they are engaging in an “expert exchange” with AfD politicians.

Leading representatives of large corporations are also showing restraint. According to a recent report, they have “no fundamental reservations about the AfD”; after all, it is pointed out that in other countries, the business world cooperates with figures like the “post-fascist Giorgia Meloni.”

However, they currently fear that their image would be severely damaged if their contacts with the AfD were made public. “At the moment, no one wants to take the first step towards the AfD because the reputational risk is too high,” said a senior lobbyist, who naturally assumes that “if the AfD comes to power, everything will happen very quickly.”

An example of this is Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who suspended Donald Trump’s account on Facebook in 2021 but publicly endorsed him after the elections at the end of 2024.

“Firewall” collapses in the EP

Last week, the “center-right” European People’s Party (EPP) group in the European Parliament (EP) contributed to strengthening the business world’s willingness to break down the firewall.

On Thursday, it voted with the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR), the Patriots for Europe (PfE), and the Europe of Sovereign Nations (ESN) in favor of a significant loosening of the Supply Chain Directive, which had previously been rejected by members of the traditional coalition of liberals and social democrats.

Within the ESN faction, AfD deputies also voted in favor. For the first time, the EP’s far-right majority passed a fundamental and far-reaching decision, rather than one of limited importance.

Manfred Weber, the EPP group chairman and CSU member who is seen as the architect of this move, said of the vote that the EP had simply “taken a step for the European economy.”

The Russia obstacle in the AfD can also be overcome

As growing support from the business world increases the likelihood of the firewall against the AfD collapsing in the not-too-distant future, some factions within the party are now pushing to eliminate another obstacle to its integration into a ruling coalition: its close ties to Russia.

Currently, a trip by three AfD politicians to Sochi to attend a meeting called “BRICS Europe” is drawing heavy criticism; contrary to its name, this event is not a regular activity of the BRICS alliance.

While a fierce media campaign has been launched against the delegation that went to Sochi, AfD leader Weidel and several other AfD politicians are trying to use this to push back the pro-Russia wing within the party.

“I personally would not have gone there. I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone either, because I don’t know what the final outcome will be,” Weidel said.

Retired Colonel Rüdiger Lucassen, the AfD parliamentary group’s defense policy spokesman, argued that Russia “shows no willingness to move towards peace,” so there was little point in going to Sochi.

“MAGA-like” policy is in vogue in West Germany

The conflict between the two wings of the AfD is intensifying. While ties with Russia are considered strong, especially in the AfD regional associations in East Germany, they are weaker in the associations in West Germany.

Another important point is that federal elections are not won in the relatively sparsely populated eastern states, but in the much more populous western states like Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia.

In these states, cooperation with the MAGA movement in the US, which is currently being promoted by the prospect of a Trump administration, is quite popular.

Therefore, the wing around Weidel aims to reduce relations with Russia to “communication channels” and focus instead on cooperation with the MAGA right in the US.

The plan to be “compatible with the Union parties and their supporters” is also said to play a role in this.