An alliance formed by Germany‘s largest companies, including BMW, BASF, and Deutsche Bank, is campaigning against extremism ahead of the European elections. The campaign comes amidst predictions of significant gains for the nationalist populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party.
“Exclusion, extremism, and populism pose threats to Germany as a business location and to our prosperity,” the alliance, which comprises a total of 30 companies, said in a statement. “In their first joint campaign, the companies are calling on their combined 1.7 million employees to take part in the upcoming European elections and engaging in numerous activities to highlight the importance of European unity for prosperity, growth, and jobs,” it added.
The globalist industrial behemoths have been compelled to action due to recent opinion polls indicating the AfD may secure around 15 percent of the EU vote next month, landing them second place, tied with the Greens, following the conservative CDU-CSU alliance. There is some concern among business leaders that strong showings from the populist right could diminish the attractiveness of Europe’s largest economy for migrant labor, exacerbating existing shortfalls in skilled workers.
The campaign plans to utilize social media to emphasize its call against extremism and enlist participation from other companies. The initiative intends to persist post-EU elections, focusing on regions where the AfD party leads in the polls, including Brandenburg, Thuringia, and Saxony.
Right-wing populist parties are surging across Europe, and the establishment in Germany is so scared of AfD that they are intent on banning it.
