(Bloomberg) Finance Minister Christian Lindner said Germany's economy would be doomed if Britain left the European Union, as proposed by the far-right Alternative for Germany party.
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Lindner said in an interview with Bloomberg TV in London on Monday that the EU's single market was “of paramount importance” to Europe's largest economy and that a so-called “Brexit” would be the worst-case scenario for export-dependent Germany. Stated.
“It will destroy our economy,” he added. “That's why we have to say to people, 'Okay, you may not follow government policy, but that's no reason to change the whole system or change our wealth base.' It is.”
Leading politicians and business executives have repeatedly warned that the AfD's version of Germany's Brexit plan would have dire consequences for economic activity.
In an interview with the Finance Times last month, AfD co-leader Alice Weidel called Britain's departure from the EU a “German model” and called for a referendum to “let the people decide, just like in the UK”. proposed.
Anti-immigration parties have capitalized on voter anger, rising to second place behind the main opposition Conservative Party in opinion polls in recent months. Prime Minister Olaf Scholz's three-party coalition of the Social Democratic Party, the Green Party and the Free Democratic Party has seen its approval ratings plummet.
Lindner's Liberal Democratic Party is under particular pressure, with opinion polls showing it is at risk of missing out on the 5% threshold for winning parliament seats in the next election, scheduled for autumn 2025. There is.
Mr Lindner acknowledged that Germany's competitiveness was “not as good as it should be” and said he was preparing proposals over the coming months on how best to improve its competitiveness “especially in the financial sector”.
Read more: German Union punished for repeat 2021 Berlin election
He said he was “very optimistic” about the economic outlook and expected things to turn around “quickly” if the government could improve the framework for business operations.
Germany was the only G7 economy to contract last year, with a growing number of economists predicting further contraction in 2024, including the country's two largest financial institutions, Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank.
The outlook for the next few years is not very good, with the government's Economic Advisory Council pegging potential growth at just 0.4%.
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