Deutsche Bank CEO Warns: Populist Parties Threaten Germany's Investment Appeal

Christian Sewing, the CEO of Deutsche Bank, Germany's largest bank, has warned that foreign investors are distancing themselves from the country after gains made by a far-right and a far-left party in last month's local elections.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which seeks to restrict immigration and return asylum seekers to their home countries, achieved some of its biggest-ever victories in eastern Germany last month. The Left Party also secured its largest win in the Berlin city government elections, pledging to expropriate real estate company properties.

In an interview with the daily newspaper "Bild," Sewing said regarding the rise of political extremism, "This poses a significant risk to Germany, and it should not be underestimated."

He added, "You cannot expect a foreign investor to distinguish between a state government and Germany as a whole... It is viewed as Germany as a whole, and I believe this is understandable from an investor's perspective."

In Saxony-Anhalt, the AfD, which security services classify as extremist in some regions, won just short of an absolute majority in the state parliament, followed two weeks later by topping the polls again in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

Economists have accused the AfD of creating an environment that would drive away skilled workers and desperately needed foreign investors.

The Left Party pledged to address rising housing costs in Berlin by expropriating real estate company assets.

Sewing stated, "Whether it concerns Saxony-Anhalt with the AfD or what is happening here in Berlin, this does not bode well for economic growth at all. Nor does it encourage investment in any way." He urged Chancellor Friedrich Merz's government to continue reforms to revive the economy.

He continued, "This is the only response we have against extremists from the right and left in this country."