Status: 09/27/2022 5:40 p.m
At an election campaign event, FDP Vice Wolfgang Kubicki described Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a “little sewer rat”. The Turkish government, outraged, summoned the German ambassador.
The Turkish government reacted indignantly to the statements made by Deputy FDP Chairman Wolfgang Kubicki about Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and summoned the German ambassador. According to media reports, at an election campaign event in Hildesheim, Kubicki described Erdogan as a “little sewer rat” in connection with his refugee policy.
The spokesman for the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that the “unacceptable statements” were inappropriate for his office as Vice President of the German Bundestag and lacked any political morality or responsibility. The “strong” protest of the Turkish government was also conveyed to the German ambassador.
“Protagonist in children’s stories”
When asked by the dpa news agency, Kubicki said that he had “called Erdogan ‘little sewer rat’ in a side note during an election campaign in Lower Saxony. ‘Kalle sewer rat’, ‘Ratatouille’)”.
Kubicki further explained that he made the statement as part of a speech on the refugee policy of the Turkish President, who had struck a deal favorable to Turkey with the European Union to reduce the number of refugees. “Nevertheless, we have to see that the wave of refugees via the Balkan route increases again, which poses new challenges for German foreign and domestic policy,” said Kubicki.