According to a recent study by the Institute of the German Economy (IW), many employees have a clear expectation of their employer in the wake of the Bundestag elections.
Despite only a quarter of the population perceiving it as the responsibility of companies to engage in politics, a significant 43.2% of respondents want their employer to take a stance against the Alternative for Germany (AfD). The study, which was not publicly released, was reported by the Rheinische Post in its Wednesday edition. The IW’s survey, conducted in December 2024, found that this desire is particularly strong among Green Party supporters.
The study’s authors, Knut Bergmann and Matthias Diermeier, noted that a significant majority of supporters of the Green Party (77%), Social Democratic Party (65.2%) and the Left Party (63.8%) also expect their employer to take a stance against the AfD. Even among the highly critical of business, a small majority of around 30% support an employer’s resistance to the AfD.
However, employees often do not receive information about their employer’s stance on the issue. According to Bergmann, only one-sixth of respondents are aware of their employer’s position on the AfD. “Companies have not yet reached their own employees with their departure from the previous policy of political neutrality” he said.
Thirty-five point nine percent of Green Party supporters and only 15.8% of AfD supporters, expect the economy to take a political stance, according to the survey.