Volkswagen CEO Muller Takes Rare Political Stand to Condemn AfD
September 25 2017 - 10:20AM
Dow Jones News
By William Boston
BERLIN--The chief executive of Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE), Germany's
largest industrial group, on Monday took a rare stand in national
politics, issuing a statement to condemn the election to parliament
of the nationalist Alternative for Deutschland party as shocking
and a watershed in Germany's postwar history.
The anti-immigration AfD won 13% of the vote on Sunday as voters
angry over Chancellor Angela Merkel's refugee policies abandoned
the mainstream parties.
It is rare for German executives to speak out on national
political matters, tending instead to leave that to industry lobby
groups. But Matthias Muller, the chief executive of the auto maker
that grew out of Adolf Hitler's dream to build a "people's car,"
put out a strongly-worded statement, saying the stability of
Germany's postwar democracy was being put to the test.
His full statement was: "The results of Sunday's election in
Germany mark a historic watershed, with the old mainstream parties
suffering dramatic losses while the populist right-wing, xenophobic
AfD is now the third-largest political force in the German
Bundestag.
"For me, the double-digit result for such a protest party comes
as a shock. It will change our country and test the stability of
our democracy.
"Over recent decades, Germany has been politically and
economically successful because we are a tolerant, cosmopolitan and
internationally-minded country. This is something we must keep on
fighting for.
"Speaking for Germany's largest industrial group, I say that in
the globalized world of business, a beggar-thy-neighbor mindset and
protectionism are a dead-end street--one that ultimately means the
loss of jobs.
"On account of its history, Germany has a special responsibility
toward democracy, freedom, tolerance and international
understanding. We in the Volkswagen Group stand by these values of
European and Western civilization--all the more so in the wake of
the Bundestag election."
Write to William Boston at William.Boston@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
September 25, 2017 10:05 ET (14:05 GMT)
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