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Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) visiting a rocket start-up

Photo: Marijan Murat / dpa

They are young, urban and often well-educated: start-up entrepreneurs have always been an ideal target group for the Greens. Last year, it became clear that the promises of the eco-parties were catching on: More than half of the founders stated in a survey that they wanted to vote for the Greens – Habeck, Baerbock and Co. suddenly had an absolute majority.

This flight of fancy now seems to be going into a tailspin. In a recent survey conducted by the Federal Association of German Start-ups and the management consultancy PwC last May to July among around 2000,<> founders and managing directors of young companies, the Greens are losing popularity if they remain clearly at the top.

»Green-yellow majority«

According to the German Start-up Monitor, around 46 percent of young German entrepreneurs would vote for the Greens, which is 4.6 percentage points less than in 2022. The Greens have been the most popular party among start-ups since 2019, previously the FDP held first place.

Other parties, however, can benefit little from the loss of trust. The FDP, which was supported with donations by big names in the start-up scene in the 2021 federal election campaign, including investors Frank Thelen and Carsten Maschmeyer, remains at an approval rate of 26.4 percent – while the Union can only inspire just over one in ten founders.

The SPD has recorded a slight upswing, with seven percent of the start-upper voting party voting for the chancellor's party. Approval of the AfD rose from 1.2 to 2.5 percent – a doubling at the lowest level.

"There is a very clear green-yellow majority among start-ups," says Christian Miele, Chairman of the Board of the Start-up Association. "The Greens lose the absolute majority, but remain in first place, followed by the FDP, which is holding steady and remains in first place." According to the report, the interests of the founders would be driven primarily by Finance Minister Christian Lindner and Economics Minister Robert Habeck.