Berlin For Stephan Schambach it is clear who should lead the future federal government: “Only a government under the leadership of the CDU will secure jobs, prosperity and growth in Germany in the long term,” says the founder of the software company Intershop. The software entrepreneur and investor does not just express his sympathy for the Christian Democrats with words.
He has just donated 300,000 euros to the party of Chancellor candidate Armin Laschet after he had already transferred 200,000 euros to the FDP in May. “This shows possible government alliances that I would like to support,” says Schambach.
In particular in the areas of digitization, education, infrastructure, bureaucracy reduction and access of technology companies to the capital market, the CDU has presented a progressive program that has a large overlap with the liberals.
Not only Schambach would like the CDU / CSU and FDP to have joint government responsibility after the election. An alliance with the participation of the three parties is also one of the preferred coalition options for around 750 entrepreneurs who the opinion research institute Civey surveyed for the Handelsblatt.
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A fifth of those questioned would like the Union and Liberals to form a Jamaica alliance with the Greens. The German coalition of the Union, SPD and FDP ranks just behind with 19 percent.
Civey had not given black and yellow as an answer option, since such a constellation seems out of reach according to the current survey values. Only the tripartite alliances Jamaica, Ampel (Greens, SPD, FDP), Green-Red-Red, Germany and Kenya (Union, Greens, SPD) and the two-party constellations Grand Coalition and Black-Green – which is currently also unlikely in terms of opinion polls – were asked.
Employers don’t want tax increases
Almost a quarter of the entrepreneurs surveyed would like a different coalition than the one specified in the selection – this should also include black and yellow. At least 13 percent are in favor of a red-red-green alliance, which Gesamtmetall boss Stefan Wolf had just described in the Handelsblatt as a “poison” for Germany as a business location – and which would almost certainly reintroduce a wealth tax and increase the inheritance tax.
Anyone who wants to prevent family businesses from remaining independent and jeopardize the country’s economic foundation, warns the co-boss of the heating and ventilation system manufacturer Viessmann, Maximilian Viessmann.
“An increase in the tax base not only weakens the backbone of the German economy, but also takes the basis for the shaping and success of the climate change,” says the entrepreneur. It is “absolute madness” how little this is addressed in public discourse. The economy is trying to make itself heard in the last few meters before the election.
The Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA) presented a plan with nine points on Thursday that a new government should tackle in the first 100 days as part of a “Future Agenda 2030”.
The core demands include planning law that promotes investments instead of hindering them, stabilizing social security contributions at a maximum of 40 percent and future-proof social systems, a clear rejection of tax increases and a state minister for structural change in the Federal Chancellery.
Environmental and climate policy play less of a role for entrepreneurs
Many of the demands would be signed by the entrepreneurs interviewed by Civey. Every second thinks that the future government should definitely tackle reform of the pension and welfare systems. Almost as many (47 percent) think that the next coalition should focus on the economy and jobs. Digitization and modernization are among the top priorities for 41 percent.
Environmental and climate policy play a smaller role for entrepreneurs than for the general population. According to the Wahlen research group, 47 percent of citizens named this topic as the most important problem in Germany in mid-September.
Of the entrepreneurs in the Civey survey, only around a third see the most urgent need for action after the election. This means that the topic still ranks fourth on the list of priorities – ahead of areas such as education and research or migration.
According to the most recent polls, a German coalition would currently have a much broader base than the Jamaica alliance, which is narrowly favored by entrepreneurs. In the Kantar survey published on Thursday, the Union has gained one point compared to the previous week and comes to 21 percent. 25 percent of voters would vote for the SPD, 16 percent for the Greens – each one percentage point less than in the previous week. The FDP remains unchanged at eleven percent. The left wins one point and ranks at seven percent, the AfD loses one point with eleven percent compared to the previous week.
However, the question arises as to how realistic a German coalition is if the SPD is the strongest force not only in the polls but also on election evening. CSU boss Markus Söder has already said that the Union should then rather go into the opposition and not join an SPD-led federal government as a junior partner.
If his party wins the election, SPD Chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz would probably prefer a traffic light alliance to a German coalition if he did not opt for red-red-green – an option that he has not yet clearly ruled out.
In any case, it is clear to entrepreneurs what qualities a future chancellor should definitely have. At the forefront for 60 percent of those surveyed is leadership, which CDU Chancellor candidate Laschet tended to miss in the election campaign. However, he successfully leads a black-yellow coalition in North Rhine-Westphalia with a majority of only one vote – which does not speak for weak leadership.
NRW economy praises Laschet
At the entrepreneur’s day in North Rhine-Westphalia, the President of the State Association of Business Associations, Arndt G. Kirchhoff, drew a positive balance of Laschet’s policy this week. “The basic mood for innovations and investments has clearly improved, North Rhine-Westphalia is clearly better off in terms of economic policy compared to the rest of the country than it was in 2017.” With its start-up and innovation-friendly agenda, the state government has given important signals for the catching-up process.
SPD chancellor candidate Scholz can also refer to supporters from the economy. Around 50 former and active executives and managers support the “It depends on the Chancellor” initiative, including the departing Berlin airport boss Engelbert Lütke Daldrup, the former TUI CEO Michael Frenzel, ex-Bahn boss Rüdiger Grube and Kitchen-Stories- Founder Verena Hubertz, who wants to move into the Bundestag herself for the SPD.
Many people will appreciate the clear positioning of Scholz, which 54 percent of the entrepreneurs surveyed by Civey should characterize the future Chancellor. Only 35 percent also expect a long-term vision from the future head of government. The outgoing incumbent Angela Merkel didn’t necessarily have that either. The Chancellor visited her constituency again on Thursday. To a flower seller at the weekly market in Greifswald she said: “I wanted to say Arrivederci again.”
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