What is there to celebrate anyway?
Tens of thousands of Turks living in Germany took to the streets at the weekend, celebrating the victory of “their” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (69) in the run-off election in Turkey with motorcades.
Why actually?
In recent years, Erdogan has turned his country into a destitute leper in Europe, trampled on democracy and human rights, and repeatedly led Turkey’s economy and currency to new negative records.
No wonder that the irritating cheering of the German-Turks is met with massive criticism!
“I find the images of motorcades extremely disturbing. We have to have an open and honest debate about how we can change that,” says CDU politician Serap Güler (42) to BILD. The narrow result of the run-off election (52:48 percent for Erdogan) shows “the division of Turkish society”.
► The following applies to politics in Germany: “We have too many German-Turks who Erdogan can reach better than we can. That needs to change.”
Certainly not by criticizing the Erdogan voters, thinks the EU domestic politician Markus Ferber (58, CSU): “Voters abuse does not lead to the goal,” says Ferber to the tweet from Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir (47, Greens). Better would be: “serious integration policy”.
Background: Özdemir (57, Greens) had tweeted after Erdogan’s victory against the Turkish celebration car parade. The Turkish street festivals and motorcades in German cities are “not celebrations of harmless supporters of a somewhat authoritarian politician,” Özdemir wrote: “They are a rejection of our pluralistic democracy that cannot be ignored and evidence of our failure among them. It’s no longer possible to overlook it.”
He is interested in “what’s going on in Germany, where Erdogan’s supporters celebrate without having to answer for the consequences of their election,” Özdemir wrote. Many people in Turkey would have to pay for Erdogan’s victory “through poverty and lack of freedom”. “You are right to be angry. We’ll talk about that!”
Outraged by the celebrations of Erdogan fans in Germany: Federal Minister of Agriculture Cem Özdemir
CDU foreign politician Johann Wadephul (60): “Does Özdemir want to expel the Turks now? What does that mean for Annalena Baerbock’s foreign policy? What does Mr. Özdemir say about the radical refugee statements by Kilicdaroglu? The crude announcement from the federal government raises numerous unanswered questions. No one denies that Erdogan is steering Turkey towards autocracy, but comments from Germany don’t change that.”
The parliamentary manager of the Union faction, Thorsten Frei (49, CDU), on the other hand, said: “Özdemir speaks of an unmistakable rejection of our pluralistic democracy. These are clear words that show that the minister takes a more realistic and less naïve view of the integration problems in our country than his colleague from the Federal Ministry of the Interior.”
Frei: “It is high time to speak openly and honestly about the side effects of the migration waves. It’s obvious: we have to organize migration better and finally limit it. If integration fails and parallel societies emerge, then that is a real problem for our whole society.”
German-Turks played a big part in Erdogan’s victory
In fact, almost two-thirds of Turks living in Germany re-elected Erdogan. The Turkish President owes around 500,000 of his two million votes to the Turks in Germany – people who live here in prosperity and security and enjoy the advantages of democracy and freedom of expression.
Motorcade and horn concert Erdogan supporters paralyze Berlin
Autocrat Erdogan rules like a sultan
With the introduction of his “presidential system” (2017), Erdogan has amassed immense power, ruling like a sultan with election gifts (minimum wage: plus 55 percent, civil servants’ pay: plus 30 percent) and with decrees that overturn parliament. If necessary, he can put critics, journalists and opposition politicians behind bars through his compliant judiciary.
Not to mention his pendulum policy with warmonger Putin, which shamelessly undermines EU sanctions and makes Turkey a shaky candidate in NATO and Europe worldwide. An element of uncertainty for Western strategists, who see Turkey drifting further and further towards Russia and Islamism.
The chairman of the European People’s Party, Manfred Weber (50, CSU), has now called for the first consequences: The accession negotiations between the EU and Turkey should be stopped!
“The last few years have shown that a close partnership is important, but nobody wants full membership of Turkey in the EU anymore – neither Turkey nor the EU,” Weber told the Funke media group. This process must be “put to rest because it blocks better relationships more than it supports it.”
At the same time, the CSU politician Erdogan called for a sign of cooperation and to accommodate the EU on the Russia question, migration policy, economic modernization, the Cyprus question and Sweden’s accession to NATO.