Prosperity and employment as election losers

State elections in Thuringia and Saxony - VBKI Managing Director Ute Weiland comments

As expected, the AfD has emerged victorious from the state elections in Thuringia and is only just behind the ruling CDU in Saxony. The BSW is now in the position of a kingmaker: the coalitions in power to date have lost their majorities, forming a government is likely to be extremely difficult here and there - and may only be possible on the condition that individual MPs change parliamentary groups. It has all happened before. The traffic light system is experiencing another disaster, and the CDU should not rest on its laurels either: Their stable performance is not necessarily an expression of convinced supporters. Some may have voted for the Christian Democrats in order to limit the influence of the AfD.

Other losers in these state elections include the economy - and therefore prosperity and employment in both East and West. The damage to the country's image abroad is likely to be immense due to the rise of a party that is classified as right-wing extremist, at least in Thuringia, 85 years after the German invasion of Poland and the rise of populism in general. At a time when East German companies in particular are desperately looking for skilled workers, we are sending a signal to the world that will not remain without consequences.

One of the lessons of these elections is that in a democracy, politics cannot bypass the voters. This does not mean that politicians should renounce their claim to leadership and talk at the mouths of the electorate. But it does mean that the pressing concerns of the people must be taken seriously: Uncontrolled migration, growing crime, the decline of infrastructure - the AfD has been able to fill a vacuum on these key issues that was not only left by the traffic light parties. If you want to win elections in Germany, you have to clearly name social problems and find credible answers. Contrary to what populism would have us believe, these answers will not be simple, but will have to prove themselves in a complex reality.

We can only hope that the people of Brandenburg will draw the right conclusions from September 2 on September 22. Protest and populism offer no sustainable solutions, and a further advance of right-wing populism will do enormous damage to the country and its economy.