SSC hydrovent AGPrivate± Mixed
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Poll shows far-right AfD poised to win eastern German state elections this September
GeopoliticsMacro
The latest survey shows the Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, leading with as much as 41 percent support in Saxony-Anhalt ahead of the September 6 election, and at 36 percent in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, which votes on September 20. This comes amid warnings from economists that the party’s anti-EU and anti-immigration policies would worsen labour shortages and seriously damage the local economy. Marcel Fratzscher, president of the DIW Berlin research institute, estimates that if the AfD governs and implements its campaign pledges, people in Saxony-Anhalt could lose an average of 1,600 euros per person per year and more than 10,000 jobs could be lost. Hans-Thomas Tillschneider, deputy leader of the AfD in Saxony-Anhalt, counters that scrapping the carbon tax and lifting sanctions on Russia would lower energy costs and boost the economy. Meanwhile, private sector voices like Lars Gottschlich, managing director of clean energy company SSC Hydrovent, argue that if clean energy businesses are economically viable, market forces will continue to drive renewable energy growth regardless of who is in power.