Siemens Energy\u00a0ENR1n.DE\u00a0supervisory board chairman Joe Kaeser has warned of a resurgence of right-wing extremism in Germany, as the country enters a second week of nationwide protests against the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.\u201cIf everything is true as reported, then that is absolutely disgusting,\u201d said Kaeser, also chairman of the supervisory board of Daimler Truck\u00a0DTGGe.DE, in an interview with Reuters published on Saturday, in reference to\u00a0reports\u00a0of a meeting of right-wing extremists in Potsdam.At the meeting, migration policy including mass deportations of people of foreign origin were discussed, as reported by investigative news website Correctiv. \u201cThis triggers bitter memories,\u201d said Kaeser.The AfD, which is polling second in nationwide surveys, has\u00a0denied\u00a0the plans are party policy. Co-leader Alice Weidel parted ways with one of her advisers who participated in the talks.The AfD did not immediately respond to requests for further comment.Kaeser\u2019s comments come after leaders of German companies including chip manufacturer Infineon\u00a0IFXGn.DE\u00a0and chemicals maker Evonik\u00a0EVKn.DE\u00a0voiced their\u00a0concerns\u00a0earlier this week.Highlighting lessons from Germany history, Kaeser warned of the damage to Germany\u2019s image in the world and called on German business to publicly warn of the consequences. He said he would take part in demonstrations against right-wing extremism that are taking place in many cities.\u201cWe must not repeat this mistake. I am really worried about our democracy,\u201d he said. Speaking of understanding, tolerance and respect as the basis for free basic order in German society, he added: \u201cAnyone who votes for the AfD is choosing to lose the prosperity of our country and its citizens.\u201dAnti-AfD protests across Germany have\u00a0gained momentum\u00a0with tens of thousands gathering on the streets of Cologne, Hamburg and Berlin. In Hamburg on Friday, the turnout was so big that organisers decided to end the demo earlier for security reasons.Further protests are planned this weekend in cities including Frankfurt and Munich. Tens of thousands had gathered in Frankfurt\u2019s centre by 14:00 on Saturday, according to local police.\u201cI am grateful that tens of thousands of people are taking to the streets across Germany these days against racism, hate speech and in favour of our liberal democracy,\u201d German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on social media platform X on Wednesday.(Reuters)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Siemens Energy supervisory board chairman Joe Kaeser has warned of a resurgence of right-wing extremism in Germany. He expressed disgust at reports of a meeting of right-wing extremists in Potsdam where migration policy, including mass deportations, was discussed. Kaeser highlighted the damage to Germany’s image and called on German businesses to publicly warn of the consequences. He also stated that he would participate in demonstrations against right-wing extremism. Anti-AfD protests have gained momentum across Germany, with tens of thousands of people gathering in various cities. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed gratitude for the protests against racism and hate speech.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2171,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[506,186,279,33,3,358,148,184,507,18],"class_list":["post-2170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cyprus","tag-afd","tag-business","tag-comment","tag-companies","tag-cyprus","tag-energy","tag-local","tag-police","tag-siemens","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n