Deutsche Bank chief warns German election results could deter foreign investors
The chief executive of Deutsche Bank, Germany’s largest bank, has warned that foreign investors could be discouraged from investing in the country following victories by parties on the political extremes in state elections last month.
The Alternative for Germany (AfD), which advocates restricting immigration and returning asylum seekers to their countries of origin, recorded some of its biggest-ever electoral gains in eastern Germany. Meanwhile, the Left Party secured its strongest result in the election for Berlin’s city government, pledging to expropriate property holdings.
“This poses a significant risk to Germany, and it should not be played down,” Deutsche Bank chief executive Christian Sewing told the Bild newspaper in an interview, referring to the rise of political extremes.
He said foreign investors might struggle to distinguish between state governments and Germany as a whole when assessing the country’s political climate.
“You can’t expect a foreign investor to immediately draw a distinction between a state government and Germany as a whole,” Sewing said. “It’s seen as Germany as a whole and I think that from an investor’s point of view, that’s understandable.”
In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD narrowly fell short of securing an absolute majority in the state parliament. The party, which security services have classified as extremist in some regions, subsequently came first in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania two weeks later.
Economists have accused the AfD of fostering an environment that could drive away skilled workers and foreign investors needed by Germany’s economy. The Left Party, meanwhile, has pledged to address Berlin’s rising housing costs by expropriating residential property companies’ holdings.
“Whether it’s Saxony-Anhalt with the AfD or what’s happening here in Berlin, it’s anything but conducive to economic growth. And it’s anything but investment-friendly,” Sewing said.
He urged the government of Chancellor Friedrich Merz to continue implementing reforms aimed at reviving the economy, describing them as the country’s main response to the rise of far-right and far-left political forces.
“That is the only response we have to the far-right and far-left extremists in this country,” he said.
Credit: Reuters
