Overview
- The association representing roughly 6,500 family firms lifted its federal-level contact ban and invited AfD Bundestag members to a parliamentary evening in October, framing talks as a way to challenge the party’s positions while rejecting any coalition with it.
- Reports from informed circles say Deutsche Bank will no longer provide its Berlin space for the group’s events, while the bank stated it had provided the venue but had no knowledge of or influence over the guest list.
- Senior figures from the Greens and the CDU’s Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsunion, along with the BDI and Bavaria’s vbw, condemned engagement with the AfD as incompatible with Germany’s open, pro‑EU economic model.
- DIW president Marcel Fratzscher cautioned that treating the AfD like a normal party could inflict significant damage on the economy at home and abroad.
- AfD co-leader Alice Weidel praised the invitation and attacked Deutsche Bank for alleged political interference, as other business groups such as Bitkom signaled they will not change their no-platform policies.