The CEO of chip-maker Infineon on Wednesday joined a growing number of German business leaders speaking out against the rise of the hardcore far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AFD) as a clear and present danger to Europe’s largest economy, Bloomberg reports.
“Hate and exclusion should not have any place in our society… The idea of so-called ‘re-migration’ is inhumane,” Jochen Hanebeck wrote in a LinkedIn post referring to the plan for a mass expulsion of immigrants – even those with German citizenship – being plotted by the AFD leadership should they seize a majority in parliament. “As a CEO, I believe that an economic and social policy aimed at isolation is harmful to us all and a threat to prosperity,” Hanebeck continued in the post.
Bloomberg reports that Hanebeck’s post, echoing that of BDI Federation of German Industries President Siegfried Russwurm calling AFD’s momentum “dangerous for the economy” at a press conference last week and Dusseldorf Airport CEO Lars Redeligx posting that the ultranationalist “mindset is poison for Germany as a business location,” are extraordinary as Deutschland’s business leaders have long traditionally stayed out of politics – which means this shit is getting serious.