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- Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing said recent German state election results were “not positive for Germany” and could weigh on its appeal to international investors.
- The AfD finished first in elections in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, while Die Linke won the Berlin election.
- Sewing said investors value Germany’s stability, rule of law and commitment to Europe.
watch nowVIDEO15:46Watch CNBC’s interview with Deutsche Bank’s Sewing and Siemens’ BuschSquawk Box Europe
The CEO of Deutsche Bank has warned that Germany’s appeal to international investors is at risk after fringe political parties’ electoral gains.
Earlier this month, the far-right AfD party won a state election in Saxony-Anhalt. The party won another state election in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern last week, while left-wing Die Linke won elections in Berlin.
The AfD proposes sharply restricting immigration and asylum. Die Linke’s campaign in the capital focused on putting large corporate landlords’ housing into public ownership.
An economist previously told CNBC that the results showed there was “not enough popular support” for the growth reforms of Chancellor Friedrich Merz, whose federal government has been losing support.
Speaking to CNBC’s Annette Weisbach on Wednesday, Deutsche Bank boss Christian Sewing said the election results were “not positive for Germany,” which he said offered investors “this stable environment, the rule of law, clearly also standing for the European Union.”
“A lot of investors are also eyeing on Europe because they think that we are not benefiting sufficiently yet from a joint Europe. If you then have actually parties who actually turn their back to Europe, that is obviously not in the interest of international investors,” he added.
Sewing, who was interviewed alongside Siemens CEO Roland Busch, added that Germany needs to “make it happen that Europe becomes a home market for us, and actually that we can excel on that. So that’s the hope of the international investors.”
“The last three weeks clearly did not help,” he added.
Sewing and Busch were among the business figures who co-launched the “Made for Germany” initiative last year, which supports Merz’s reforms and committed participants to investing in the country.
