AfD on the economy

The AfD wants to write the social market economy into the state constitution as a state goal. It argues that subsidies, bans and bureaucracy are increasingly undermining this model.

The AfD wants to put the social market economy into the state constitution. Social market economy means: companies compete, and the state provides balance. The AfD says the state interferes too much. It wants to change that.

According to the platform, the state should only set the framework and not interfere in business decisions. The AfD rejects lasting subsidies for structures that cannot survive in the market; it considers support justified only in cases of market failure or special social need. As relief it names a tax policy that rewards performance and less red tape at the state, federal and EU levels. A regular round table with small and mid-sized businesses, the skilled trades and the chambers would also discuss red tape, skilled workers and competitiveness.

The AfD wants to fundamentally revise the state's Tariftreue- und Vergabegesetz (law tying public contracts to collectively agreed wages) and strike wage requirements from procurement. In its view the law disadvantages small firms, makes contracts more expensive and interferes with freedom of contract.

The state gives contracts to companies. Today these companies must pay union-level wages. The AfD wants to remove this rule. It says small companies otherwise have no chance of getting contracts.

Public contracts would be awarded based on quality, reliability and cost-effectiveness. According to the platform, good wages come from productivity and competition for workers, not from government requirements. The value thresholds below which contracts can be awarded directly or through a simplified process would rise significantly. The AfD expects fewer documentation duties for small and mid-sized firms and savings for taxpayers.

The AfD wants to liberalize shop closing times and the Bäderverkaufsverordnung (rules on Sunday sales in resort towns) and allow more Sunday shopping days. It rejects new levies on businesses in a future tourism law.

The AfD wants shops to be allowed to open longer. There should be more Sundays when shops are open. Special sales rules should apply in more vacation towns. The AfD does not want new charges for tourism businesses.

The Bäderverkaufsverordnung determines in which resort towns shops may open on Sundays. Under the platform, the list of these towns would grow. The AfD also opposes additional charges on businesses that it expects in a tourism law planned by the SPD.

The AfD wants to use a large share of federal and EU funding differently, mainly for location quality, technology, start-ups and self-employment. The state's microloan program would offer larger amounts and lower interest rates.

The state gets funding from the federal government and the EU. The AfD wants to spend this money differently. More money should go to founders and new technology. Small loans for founders should become larger and cheaper.

This concerns the federal GRW regional economic support and money from the European Social Fund, which the AfD says is not being used optimally. For microloans, the platform considers the loan amounts too small and the interest too high. Start-ups should not fail because of outdated terms.

The AfD wants to support companies in using robotics, automation, software and artificial intelligence to partly make up for missing workers. Tax incentives would speed up such investments.

Many companies lack workers. The AfD wants companies to use more robots and computer programs. In return, companies should pay less tax. Government offices should also work more digitally.

According to the platform, the aim is not to replace people but to relieve them of repetitive, physically demanding or bureaucratic tasks. Skilled workers could then be deployed where they are needed most. This would also apply to the public sector, where digitalization could free up capacity. As tax instruments, the AfD names immediate write-offs and research bonuses.

The AfD wants to expand the health economy with a life sciences growth initiative and turn research into products faster. In the food industry, regional value chains would be strengthened.

The AfD wants more support for companies in medicine and research. Results from universities should become products faster. Food companies should also get help. What is grown in the state should also be processed there.

Plans include a technology transfer office and industry scholarships for scientists who turn research results into start-ups. The platform points to a research and development rate of 1.7 percent in the state compared with 3.2 percent in Saxony. Medical technology and pharmaceutical companies would be attracted and the BioCon Valley network expanded. For the food industry, the AfD envisions investment support for production facilities, help with digitalization and automation, and marketing of regional products, with a focus on small and mid-sized firms.

The AfD wants to keep giving targeted support to the state's shipyards, focusing on specialized vessels and ships for public purposes. Guarantees and other funding would be granted only after a strict risk assessment.

The AfD wants to keep helping the shipyards in the state. Shipyards are companies that build ships. They should mainly build special ships, for example for the navy and research. The state should check carefully how risky its help is.

The platform lists the navy, munitions recovery, coastal protection, research, public agencies, rescue services and infrastructure as fields of use. The AfD sees particular strengths of the state in these areas. In its account, past guarantees and funding cost the state several hundred million euros. High risks for taxpayers and a lack of oversight should not be repeated.

The AfD wants to replace the Landesförderinstitut (state funding institute) with a central, digital state development bank and streamline the roughly 250 funding programs. All taxpayers would receive a pre-filled tax return, and access to public agencies would go digital.

The state hands out funding through its own institute. The AfD wants to create a new digital state bank for this. There should be fewer funding programs. Everyone should get a tax return that is already filled in.

The program considers the current institute unfit for the future and too dependent on the Nord/LB bank. The new bank would handle loans, grants, guarantees, equity stakes, business start-ups and succession planning in one place, with funding targeted at regional value creation. Tax offices would focus on large businesses and wealthy individuals rather than small incomes. Digital access to all agencies is meant to replace costly paper-based structures.

The AfD wants to extend tourism across the whole year and into the inland regions. Its guiding ideas are quality over quantity and a balance between the coast and the interior. It plans winter offerings, more riding, cycling, and water tourism, and help with recruiting staff.

The AfD wants more tourists in winter. The land behind the coast should also get more guests. Riding, cycling, and rowing should matter more. Hotels and restaurants should find staff more easily.

Thermal baths, museums, and cultural institutions would get support to build winter programs, alongside a state marketing campaign and more widely staggered school vacation dates. The megalithic culture route would be submitted to the EU for recognition as European cultural heritage, and there would be pilot regions for nature-friendly wild camping. The state forest law would be changed so that horseback riding and carriage driving are generally allowed in lightly used forests without protected status; riding stables would get access to investment funding. For staffing, the platform calls for a decentralized training network under the guiding idea of a tourism academy, vacation work programs, and funding for businesses that train apprentices. German is to be the standard for staff dealing with guests.

The AfD rejects the state's planned tourism law. In its view, the law brings extra red tape, possible new levies, and centralization at the state level. Instead, it calls for more regional self-reliance and targeted help for businesses and infrastructure.

The state is planning a tourism law. The AfD is against it. It says the law brings more paperwork and maybe new fees. The regions should decide for themselves instead.

The platform criticizes new reporting duties and administrative processes that it says would overwhelm small providers in particular. It warns of financial burdens from possible statewide levies and sees no clear benefit for municipalities. Decisions would also shift from regions and tourism associations to the state. The AfD further faults a lack of transparency in tourism management and fears duplicate structures.