Economic experts warn of negative consequences of the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia

Economists expect negative consequences from the state elections in Saxony and Thuringia. In a survey of 185 economists conducted by the Munich Ifo Institute, a good 78 percent said that they expect negative or very negative consequences for the business location. Only just under three percent see positive or very positive consequences.

"The unanimous assessment of economic experts that support for radical parties will severely damage the economy should be a wake-up call for the population," says Niklas Potrafke, Head of the Ifo Center for Public Finance and Political Economy. "These results underline how strongly election results influence economic expectations."

Unattractive for skilled workers

The economic experts surveyed have a particularly negative view of the consequences of the AfD's success for the attractiveness of countries for skilled workers. Almost 84 percent of respondents expect negative or very negative consequences, while only three percent expect positive or very positive consequences. A clear majority of 77% also expect negative consequences for companies' investment decisions, while just under 2% see positive effects.

Economists are also concerned about the results of the BSW. A good 60 percent see negative consequences for the business location, with just under 2 percent seeing positive effects. "The impact of the BSW's election success on economic development is seen as slightly less negative compared to the AfD," says Ifo researcher Aaron Günther.

More negative consequences for Thuringia

When the researchers are asked about the results of the state elections separately for the two states, the answers are also clearly negative: for Saxony, 67 percent of responses are negative but only 3 percent positive, while the result for Thuringia is 74 to 2.

For the survey, 185 German professors of economics were interviewed between September 3 and 10.