AfD on the economy

The AfD makes reindustrializing Brandenburg a priority and wants to secure existing industrial sites. A state initiative is meant to make trades and industrial jobs more attractive, including through free master craftsman training.

The AfD wants more industry in Brandenburg again. Training to become a master craftsman should be free. Starting a company should become easier. Steel plants in the state should stay.

A special fund would pay for master craftsman training and comparable qualifications; exam fees are waived for those who pass. Barriers to founding, running and taking over small and mid-sized firms are to be removed. The AfD does not want steel production in Brandenburg an der Havel and Eisenhüttenstadt switched to green hydrogen. Industrial policy is to take priority over the climate-driven transformation, and the economy should rely less on subsidies.

The AfD wants to set up special economic zones where simpler administrative and legal rules apply to investors, founders and business owners. The platform points to Poland as a model.

The AfD wants to create special areas for business. Simpler rules for companies should apply there. Decisions should be fast and involve little paperwork. Poland already does this.

In these zones, decisions are to be made locally, quickly and with little red tape. The platform points to good results in neighboring Poland. By contrast, the AfD sees structural change in regions such as Lusatia as held back by bureaucracy and misguided incentives from EU funds.

The AfD wants to preserve, extend and better connect hiking, cycling and themed routes and other tourist attractions. From 2025, the state budget is to include a dedicated tourism budget for districts and cities.

The AfD wants to do more for tourism. Hiking and bike trails should get better. Districts and cities should get their own money for this from 2025. Local restaurants should also get support.

The platform counts industrial monuments, parks, local history museums and the waterway network among the attractions. Local restaurants are to be supported. Regular meetings of the tourism sector and a modern visitor information and guidance system are planned. A state award for German cuisine is to be added.

The AfD wants Brandenburg to press the federal government to get the EU-wide ban on combustion engines lifted. It cites looming losses of jobs and prosperity and wants to advance e-fuel research in the state.

The EU has decided that new cars with gasoline or diesel engines will be banned. The AfD wants to overturn this ban. It fears that many jobs will be lost. Brandenburg should do research on e-fuels. These are fuels made artificially.

According to the platform, the ban hits German industry hard and puts hundreds of thousands of jobs at risk. The state government is therefore to lobby the federal government. Research into synthetic fuels in Brandenburg is meant to keep the combustion engine alive.

The AfD wants to provide targeted support for the video game industry in Brandenburg. It regards digital games as a cultural asset and as a sector with great potential for jobs.

The AfD wants to support companies that make video games. New companies should come to Brandenburg. This should create jobs. The AfD says games are also culture.

The platform cites more than 34 million people in Germany who play regularly, with an average age of about 36. It says the capital region has roughly 1,500 companies in the industry, including start-ups and international corporations. The AfD wants to build on this and support new company locations, start-ups and innovative projects. This is meant to create and secure jobs.