Dittrich wants to head the Central Association of German Crafts (ZDH).
(Photo: Dresden Chamber of Crafts)
Berlin At the Dresden Chamber of Crafts, AfD boss Tino Chrupalla sometimes sits in the front row at events. So far, that hasn’t even been enough for a local posse. But the President of the Dresden Chamber of Crafts, Jörg Dittrich, wants to head the Central Association of German Crafts (ZDH). The Handelsblatt learned this from a chamber of crafts.
The ZDH is not only one of the leading and most influential umbrella organizations in Berlin. It is also part of the German chamber system alongside the Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK). Every craft business in Germany must also be a member of a Chamber of Crafts. The approximately one million companies are an economic, but also a political power.
As the successor to the recognized ZDH President Hans Peter Wollseifer, Jörg Dittrich apparently wants to lead the fortunes of the association. The 52-year-old is a master roofer, completed a correspondence course to become a qualified engineer and received his doctorate from the Technical University of Kosice in the Slovak Republic.
In December, the new election of the ZDH leadership is pending. Dittrich is already exploring his options for inheriting Wollseifer. His main argument, as one hears from trade circles: more than 30 years after the fall of the wall, it was time for a president from the east. So far, Dittrich has been on the executive board of the ZDH.
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But the personal details are not met with approval everywhere. The unclear handling of the Dresden Chamber with the AfD is pointed out behind closed doors. Party leader Chrupalla was not only present at a championship celebration with several hundred participants, but also congratulated deserving craftsmen at an official event on the presentation of the golden master craftsman’s certificate. He made it, including a photo, into the industry journal.
The trained master painter designatet the AfD gerne as a party of German crafts.
(Photo: Reuters)
The Saxon AfD politicians like to take part in such championship celebrations for their own press work. Chrupalla, himself a master painter, likes to refer to the AfD as the party of German crafts.
While the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has recently been able to classify the entire AfD as a suspected right-wing extremist case, when asked by the Handelsblatt, the Dresden Chamber of Crafts still speaks of “equidistant contact with all democratically elected parties in parliament” in connection with the AfD.
Employees of the Dresden Chamber of Commerce took part in the hearing at the request of the AfD
An incident at the federal level also caused shaking of heads in trade circles. At the express request of the AfD, an employee of the Dresden Chamber of Crafts took part in the important expert hearing in the Bundestag about the return to compulsory master craftsmanship, for example for tilers.
Apparently, the managers of the chamber in Dresden were well aware of the delicate mission. Dittrich avoided appearing at the hearing himself or sending his chief executive officer.
The Chamber of Crafts sees it less dramatically: “The plenary assembly of the Dresden Chamber of Crafts is committed to extending the requirement for a master craftsman and has complied with the request of a party represented in the Bundestag and in the Saxon state parliament to send an employee as a neutral expert to the expert hearing in the German Bundestag “, explains the chamber when asked by the Handelsblatt. In this case, it was an employee of the legal department.
>> Read here: The Office for the Protection of the Constitution is allowed to monitor the entire AfD
Meanwhile, Jörg Dittrich is known for his drastic formulations. So he talks about the wage slaves for VW when it comes to craftsmanship and digitization. Craft circles doubt that this confrontational style can be successful at the federal level.
Wollseifer’s greatest success was the so-called “re-mastering”, in which twelve trades are now again subject to master craftsmanship. That was only possible because Wollseifer and his general manager Holger Schwannecke have a trustworthy relationship with all democratic political camps.
In December, the new election of the ZDH leadership is pending.
(Photo: dpa)
The ZDH does not involve the AfD, unlike the Dresden Chamber of Crafts. Dittrich, who took part in the last federal assembly at the suggestion of the CDU, avoids too much public proximity to the AfD himself. But even the impression of being very close to the AfD is fatal, according to trade circles. The clocks ticked differently in Berlin than in Dresden.
When asked by the Handelsblatt whether ZDH President Wollseifer supported Dittrich’s candidacy, the association did not want to comment. The ZDH also did not want to comment on how the Dresden Chamber of Crafts dealt with the AfD.
More: Karlsruhe dismisses the AfD parliamentary group’s complaint to the Bundestag presidium.