Investor Frank Thelen pays off the government. He blames the SPD and the Union for giving up on pensions, taxes and social security, and calls the “firewall” against the AfD a mistake.
Frank Thelen is disappointed. Given recent reform efforts in pensions, health care and the labor market, the entrepreneur argues that the black-and-red federal government lacks ambition. “I don’t see any real will for reform at all, and, unfortunately, I don’t see the creation of a team here,” he complained to Bild. These are just compromise solutions, since the SPD and the Union pursue “completely different plans” for Germany.
“We have a migration problem, we have an infrastructure problem,” he said, listing construction sites he believes are open. “There is no tax reform, there is no reform that would shrink the welfare state and give the middle class, the hardworking workers, more money again.” Company founders, in particular, are “disappointed that the money and investment they need is coming not from Europe, but from the United States,” Thelen complained.
He also criticized the AfD’s “firewall” concept as a mistake in the negotiations. Thanks to this, the Union can have freedom of action for future negotiations. “If I rule out negotiations in advance, then my scope for negotiations will be too small and I could be blackmailed,” the entrepreneur explained. “The firewall caused damage to Germany. And lest I be misunderstood: I don’t want an AfD government, but without the firewall there would be more room for maneuver in negotiations and we would have a stronger CDU/CSU today.”
His public stances on political issues and candidates have hurt him numerous times in the past. “I’ve donated and supported politicians on a number of occasions. But what’s really expensive is political expression in this country,” Thelen said. “I said very clearly at a time when it was not in fashion: I don’t want a government that is very left-wing.”
After he spoke out “very strongly” against the Greens’ energy policy, clients and cooperation partners canceled “projects worth millions” within a few days, the investor reminded Bild editor Patricia Platiel. “I have faced strong backlash as a result of my political statements and have clearly lost many millions of euros as a result.”
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