Ex-Porsche boss warns:

“We are losing most of our prosperity”

Ex-Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking (here in an archive photo in a sports car) rages: "We are being controlled by amateurs."

(Bild: DW Stuttgart)

The former boss of German sports car manufacturer Porsche, Wendelin Wiedeking, is taking a hard line on politics - and his view of the future of the European economy is bleak: "There will be redundancies, it will be to the detriment of the people," says the 72-year-old.

In an interview with "Bild am Sonntag", Wiedeking, who was the world's highest-paid manager in 2008 with a salary of 100 million euros, settles accounts with today's political leadership: "We are being steered by amateurs who have learned nothing and have accomplished nothing in their lives except to talk big in politics. Today, we are steered by politicians who basically have no real professional experience." With disastrous consequences - also for Austria.

Too much has been imposed on the European car industry
The consequences - for the German car industry, for example, and therefore also for the Austrian supplier industry - are fatal: "Politicians have made stipulations that were inadmissible. You can wish for anything, but it must also be feasible. I believe that too much has been imposed on the entire European car industry. They have been threatened with high penalties: 15 billion euros in fines are to be imposed next year if CO₂ targets are not met by the automotive industry. The most important economic factor in Europe is being strangled."

The most important economic factor that Europe has is being strangled.

Wiedeking über die zu strengen Vorgaben für die Autoindustrie

As far as the economy is concerned, we are shooting ourselves in the foot: "Laws have been passed that are now having consequences for many companies: There will be redundancies, it will be to the detriment of the people. We are losing the most important economic factor we have, and with it a large part of our prosperity."

"Many suppliers are fighting for their existence"
Wiedeking leaves no doubt that the entire economy will suffer: "Many suppliers are fighting for their existence. Many mechanical engineering companies are fighting for their existence. The steelworks are fighting for their existence. Everything is so expensive here, and it's impossible to see where this is going to end. We have really set Germany on fire, in all corners at the same time. And people can't stand it. I can only hope that the next government is no longer a traffic light."

Wiedeking complains that politics today is "driven by green ideology, which no longer has anything to do with reality".

(Bild: APA/AFP)

We have really set Germany on fire, in all corners at the same time.

Wiedeking über die Folgen für die Wirtschaft und die Gesellschaft

"People are insecure, have fears about the future"
The main problem: politicians are more concerned with inhibiting regulations instead of creating momentum and optimism. "Today, we have an exaggerated policy that is driven by green ideology, which no longer has anything to do with reality. And that is our problem: people in this country are insecure, they are afraid of the future. And if politicians don't change course dramatically, make more policies for the people and not against them, and take them with them on their way to a different world, then we will have a major issue at some point," says Wiedeking.