The head of the German Trade Union Federation (DGB), Yasmin Fahimi, warns against scaring off foreign skilled workers with the current migration debate. Germany needs “migrants, without whom entire industries and the social system would have collapsed” the trade union leader told the Handelsblatt (Thursday edition).
Looking at the AfD and their “remigration” statements, Fahimi said, “Ask AfD politicians who will later clean up after them when they are old.” She also criticized the Union for making itself dependent on the votes of the right-wing extremists and fascists in this country in its proposals on migration and internal security. “This is a dam break that can hardly be mended again” she said.
The DGB chairwoman was also harsh on the Free Democratic Party (FDP). She would “have nothing against a liberal voice in the next Bundestag” Fahimi said, “but the current FDP is a strange mix of neoliberal populism and hectic activism.” The party has “completely lost its way” and its political style shows that it cannot handle government responsibility.
Fahimi advocated for a reform of the debt brake and targeted investment incentives for companies. In the current economic situation in Germany, “austerity is poison” she warned. “Without a reform of the debt brake, we will not be able to push through the necessary investments in the future security of our infrastructure.”
A blanket reduction of corporate taxes, as proposed by the Union, is rejected by Fahimi: “Just because we have to manage our public funds, we cannot now engage in a pouring-the-money-down-the-drain policy.