Overall metal boss Stefan Wolf: “Red-Green-Red would be a catastrophe” – domestic politics

In an interview with BILD, Stefan Wolf, President of the powerful employers’ association Gesamtmetall, warns of job cuts with consequences for hundreds of thousands of employees, accuses SPD Chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz of a lack of “moral sense” and calls for a return to nuclear energy.

BILD: Mr. Wolf, during the election campaign there was a lot of talk about beautified résumés and laughing at the wrong moment. So far, the economy has only been a marginal issue. Does that bother you?

Wolf: “To be honest: that worries me. It has to be clear to the people that on election day they are not simply voting on which coalition will govern this country for the next four years.”

What else is it about?

Wolf: “It’s about a fundamental decision about how our country should look in the future. Citizens can choose between a life in freedom, with a free economy, jobs and prosperity. On the other hand, socialists advertise a state that is attracting more and more powers, that bans its citizens with prohibitions and crushes them with bureaucracy. ”

Are you alluding to a possible coalition of the SPD, the Greens and the Left Party?

Wolf: “Such a coalition would be a disaster for the prosperity of our country. Because for a red-green-red government, free enterprise is at best a nuisance, but at worst it is something that needs to be prevented. German companies and employees are already burdened with the highest taxes in the world. If the taxes continue to rise, as the Left and the SPD are demanding, hundreds of thousands of jobs would be lost and the industrial location would be severely weakened. But there is another reason why such a coalition would be a disaster for the country … “

… namely?

Wolf: “Such a coalition would be forgotten about history. Because the Left Party is not just any party, but the successor organization to the SED, which led the GDR’s unjust state. It is the same party that ordered that people be shot at the German-German border. It is a scandal that the SPD chancellor candidate Olaf Scholz is not outright ruling out a coalition with the Left Party. Anyone who brings such people into the federal government simply lacks a moral sense. ”

Armin Laschet has ruled out a coalition with the Left Party, but industry has to adapt to tough climate policy requirements even with a Union-led government. Does industry no longer have a future in this country?

Wolf: “Stricter rules for industry would not help in the fight against climate change, on the contrary. German vehicle manufacturers have been dealing with new drive technologies for years. So instead of hoping to reduce world CO2 emissions by 0.2 percent with government bans, we must do everything we can to develop climate-friendly technologies and export them to countries where CO2 emissions are significantly higher. ”

What can politics do to support industry in this?

Wolf: “Above all, she has to think about how German companies are less burdened than their competitors abroad. On the one hand, it is time to think about tax cuts. The social security contributions must not rise above 40 percent. On the other hand, the industry is also heavily burdened by the high electricity prices, for example, and thus has a competitive disadvantage. We must therefore also have uncomfortable debates such as the one on nuclear energy. “

Do you see a future for nuclear power in Germany?

Wolf: “Yes, we should also talk about a return to nuclear power. Because in the coming years we will have an increasing demand for electricity, not least because of the increasing electromobility, at the same time we are getting out of coal and cannot keep up with the construction of wind turbines. It can’t be that we make ourselves completely dependent on other countries, where we buy nuclear and coal electricity at a high price. ”

There is little talk about pensions in the election campaign. What should happen to the economy?

Wolf: “Germany urgently needs a pension reform! Politicians are fooling voters when they pretend that everything can stay the same. For the current generation of pensions, pensions are absolutely secure, but we have to make them just as secure for the younger generation through reforms. “

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