Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is promising a sweeping package of family incentives aimed at reviving eastern Germany, which has been losing population rapidly. The party says it wants to attract young people who have left the region by offering tax exemptions for families with three or more children, low-interest housing loans and free childcare.
With elections due to take place in Saxony-Anhalt in September, population decline has become one of the central issues of the campaign. In former industrial cities such as Dessau-Roßlau, years of migration by younger residents to western Germany have contributed to an aging population and deepening economic stagnation.
Once an important industrial and manufacturing center in East Germany, Dessau-Roßlau had a population of around 114,000 when Germany was reunified in 1990. Today, that figure has fallen to roughly 70,000. The closure of factories and decline in employment opportunities have driven younger residents away, leaving the city with vacant housing and an increasingly elderly population.
Tax cuts and €300,000 loans
The AfD, which is leading in opinion polls, is proposing family-focused economic incentives to make the region more attractive.
Under the party’s plan, families with three or more children would be exempt from income tax on annual earnings of up to €85,000. The proposals also include low-interest loans of up to €300,000 for young families, a €20,000 refund on pension contributions for each new child, and free daycare and childcare services.
The AfD says the incentives would both increase the birth rate and encourage East Germans who have moved west in recent decades to return to the region.
Economic problems seen as bigger than incentives
Many people living in the region, however, believe financial support alone will not solve the problem.
Local business owners and residents say the main reason young people leave is the lack of employment opportunities. They argue that economic vitality has never fully recovered since former industrial facilities were closed or relocated to western Germany, and that the development gap between eastern and western Germany remains.
The Saxony-Anhalt state government also recognizes population decline as one of the state’s biggest challenges. But it argues that the AfD’s focus on boosting the birth rate would not provide a short-term solution to the employment problem.
AfD poised for historic election result
According to opinion polls, the AfD could win around 41 percent of the vote in September’s election, potentially giving it a chance to form a state government for the first time. The Christian Democratic Union (CDU), which came first in the previous election, is expected to suffer a significant decline in support.
The AfD portrays the population crisis as the result of decades of economic neglect in the region and argues that immigration is not a solution. Its platform places the promotion of traditional family structures and higher birth rates among its top priorities.
Young people are looking elsewhere
Young people living in the region, however, say the real problem is the lack of economic and social opportunities.
Ali Nabi, a 24-year-old resident of Dessau-Roßlau, said young people begin leaving the area as soon as they turn 17 or 18.
“There’s nothing here for them — no entertainment and no social life. I go to Leipzig or Berlin in my free time. I also want to move to Dresden soon,” he said.
Experts say reversing eastern Germany’s population decline will require more than financial incentives. New investment, employment opportunities and social policies aimed at improving quality of life are also likely to be decisive.
Be First to Comment