Marcel Fratzscher, president of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), has sharply criticized the conduct of Audi CEO Gernot Döllner during a political campaign event involving U.S. President Donald Trump. Fratzscher commented to the “Handelsblatt”, stating that the CEO’s behavior demonstrates a lack of responsibility among some German corporate leaders regarding their own mistakes and the functioning of a market economy.
According to the DIW head, Germany can only become attractive and innovative as an economic location again if the management of German companies affirms and dedicates itself to the values of democracy, an open society, and a multilateral world order.
Fratzscher further accused Audi of ignoring economic risks. He argued that the CEO’s support for Donald Trump highlights a broader trend: too many German corporations are continually increasing their dependency on the USA and China instead of significantly reducing that dependence, mitigating risk, and abandoning a focus solely on short-term profit. Fratzscher concluded that this is detrimental to the Audi conglomerate as well as to Germany’s standing as an economic power.
