Economist warns AfD victory could put skilled workers off Saxony-Anhalt

Monika Schnitzer, chair of Germany’s Council of Economic Experts, has warned that an AfD victory in Saxony-Anhalt could carry serious economic costs. If the right-wing party entered government after the state election, it could discourage urgently needed skilled workers and make the state less attractive to companies.

“Given the election programme, an AfD takeover of government would be expected to significantly reduce the state’s attractiveness as a location for skilled workers and companies,” Schnitzer told the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger.

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Given the election programme, an AfD takeover of government would be expected to significantly reduce the state’s attractiveness as a location for skilled workers and companies.

The Munich economics professor said many workers in Saxony-Anhalt will retire in the coming years. “Without an influx from outside, many skilled workers will soon be missing,” she said. “And without enough skilled workers, urgently needed investment will fail to materialise.”

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Without an influx from outside, many skilled workers will soon be missing.

Reint Gropp, president of the Leibniz Institute for Economic Research Halle, recently raised similar concerns. If the AfD won and continued campaigning against immigrants, “thousands of additional positions would remain vacant,” he said. “The state would suffer a noticeable loss of prosperity.” An IWH study said immigration from abroad had stabilised Saxony-Anhalt’s labour market in recent years.

Schnitzer’s former colleague Ulrike Malmendier issued a similar warning three years ago about the wider German economy. She said recruiting workers from abroad would not succeed on a sufficient scale if an isolationist party such as the AfD gained increasing support and polarisation became central to politics.

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And without enough skilled workers, urgently needed investment will fail to materialise.

Saxony-Anhalt is electing a new state parliament. A ZDF poll published on Thursday evening put the AfD at 41%, the CDU at 23%, the Left at 11.5% and the SPD at 8.5%.

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Thousands of additional positions would remain vacant.