Saxony's new Minister of Economic Affairs Dirk Panter (SPD) wants to attract more defence companies to the state. This applies to industry as well as SMEs and start-ups, he said in his first specialist government statement in the state parliament. "Three-digit billion sums will flow into security. Should this money really all be invested in the other federal states? Is that what we want?"
"Of course you can take a critical view of armaments. I remember the reflexes when the armaments company Rheinmetall considered building a factory in Grossenhain," said Panter. There had been a similar debate about armaments orders in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern - with a different outcome. "The survival of the shipyard in Wolgast depended on whether submarines or other military vessels were built - and that is what is happening now."
Panter welcomed the fact that the armaments group KNDS is taking over the site of the rail vehicle manufacturer Alstom in Görlitz. This would preserve well-paid industrial jobs. This is a blessing and has been achieved thanks to the close cooperation between the company, the works council, IG Metall, the city, the state and the federal government.
