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Rossmann CEO Defends dm Chief Over AfD Association Backlash

The show of support follows the family business lobby’s retreat from inviting AfD lawmakers after corporate exits.

Overview

  • Raoul Roßmann said his company’s exit from the Familienunternehmer was misused to disparage dm and its CEO Christoph Werner in the AfD debate.
  • Christoph Werner reported heavy social‑media criticism accusing dm of siding with the AfD and condemned tactics of defamation, shaming and boycott calls.
  • Roßmann rejected AfD economic policies as harmful for Germany’s business environment and affirmed the importance of a democratic cordon sanitaire.
  • The Familienunternehmer invited AfD representatives to a parliamentary event and lifted a contact ban in October, then reversed course and called it a mistake after departures by firms including Rossmann, Vorwerk and Fritz‑Kola.
  • Both executives dismissed the framing of a Rossmann‑versus‑dm feud, emphasizing longstanding mutual respect between the rival drugstore chains.