Capitalism Debate Raises Eyebrows

Chairman of Germany's ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD), Franz Müntefering triggered the debate last week when he accused international investors of being "capitalist locusts" who chew up companies and spit them out again.

"I am criticizing all those who think they can pick whatever they need out of any company," Müntefering (photo) said. "And they do it without thinking about the employees and all the people who are affected by their decisions."

Public outrage

Deutsche Bank is one example. There was wide-spread public outrage when the company announced in February it was planning to lay off almost 2,000 employees in Germany as part of a strategy to boost earnings, despite record profits last year.

According to Müntefering, its tactic was "immoral and irresponsible." But leading German businessmen argue that they have to ensure that the companies remain competitive in the global arena.

Dieter Hundt, president of the Employers' Association retaliated against Müntefering's remarks by warning that the debate was simply counter-productive.

"The debate sparked by the SPD about the power of business and money will harm Germany's image at home and especially abroad," he insisted.

Some left-wing politicians in Germany have called for a boycott of the offending companies. And opinion polls show that they have a lot of public support. Nearly 70 percent of Germans polled last week said business had become too powerful.

Ulterior motives?

But an equal number of people are skeptical about the real motives behind the current debate.

Germany’s most populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia is set to go to the polls in three weeks. Surveys suggest that the Social Democrats will lose their grip on power in their former stronghold for the first time in 39 years.

The new anti-capitalist debate has to be seen in this context, said political analyst Professor Jürgen Falter.

"It’s a campaign strategy to help the SDP win the North-Rhine-Westphalia elections," he stressed. "But it's based on a real problem, which is a social and economic one. There's a discrepancy between party rhetoric on one hand and the actions of the government on the other."

The SPD-led government in Berlin has emphasized that there are no plans to change policy and introduce fresh legislation. They have vowed to push ahead with their controversial social reforms -- even though they are angering many of the most loyal voters.