Erdogan’s not doing Turks in Europe any favors
Semih
Idiz, Al Monitor, June 12, 2018
Expatriate
Turks started casting their ballots last week for the June 24 snap presidential
and parliamentary elections called for by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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| Turkish supporters of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Europe have served him well, but whether it serves them well is another matter. Image by Hugo Goodridge/Al-Monitor. |
Erdogan
set off shock waves last year when he referred to political leaders in Germany,
Holland and Austria as Nazis. He had gone ballistic after he and ministers from
his Justice and Development Party (AKP) were prevented from canvassing Turks in
those countries for the constitutional referendum designed to enhance his hold
on power by replacing Turkey’s parliamentary democracy with a presidential
system.
After
Erdogan announced snap elections in April, Germany, Holland and Austria wasted
no time in again banning Turkish politicians from canvassing Turks on their
territory. The bans were clearly aimed at Erdogan and the AKP, because Turkey’s
pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party was allowed to
hold a rally in Berlin in early June.
Of the
Turks in Europe eligible to vote in the 2017 referendum, 63% in Germany, 70.1%
in Holland and 73.23% in Austria supported amending the constitution, fully
aware that it was essentially a vote for Erdogan’s continued leadership. Put
another way, the ban on Turkish politicians campaigning in Europe backfired.
This outcome shone the spotlight even brighter on the Turkish diaspora in
Europe.
Not just
the far right, but conservative, center-right and social democratic politicians
in Europe also began to question the loyalty of their Turkish minorities. This
was highlighted when Mesut Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan, German-born soccer stars of
Turkish origin on the German national team, visited Erdogan during his official
visit to London in May. The picture posted by Erdogan’s office of him meeting
the players was interpreted as a blatant show of political support and elicited
angry reactions in Germany. Ozil and Gundogan were forced to request a meeting
with German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to clarify matters. Steinmeier
later announced on Facebook that the players had affirmed their loyalty to
Germany during the meeting.
The
outcome of last year’s referendum also increased scrutiny of Turkish groups in
Germany and Austria, especially those with AKP ties. It also reignited the dual
citizenship debate in Germany, with increasing calls for Turks to
decide whether they want to carry Turkish or German passports. A large number
of Turks in Europe continue to cling to their Turkish citizenship for emotional
or practical reasons but also want to secure dual citizenship rights.
Ahmet
Acet, a retired Turkish ambassador who served in Berlin during 2008-2011, noted
that the dual citizenship question is not new to Germany. He added, however,
that Erdogan’s bellicose remarks aimed at Europe have inflamed matters.
“This has
definitely not made it easier for Turks there,” Acet told Al-Monitor. “It has
also increased anti-Turkish, right-wing sentiment.”
He
believes Turks in Germany and Austria should not expect their condition to
improve under the current conditions. “It will be enough of a benefit for them
if there is no change in their present condition, rather than seeing things get
worse,” Acet said.
Politicians
in Germany, Holland and Austria — the three countries with the largest Turkish
communities — continue to view Erdogan as a major obstacle to integrating their
Turkish minorities. Osman Koruturk, a retired Turkish ambassador who also
served in Berlin in 2000-2003, said the question of integration features
prominently in the minds of German politicians.
“The fear
is that Turks in that country will be organized by Ankara and interfere in
German politics,” Koruturk told Al-Monitor. “Erdogan’s approach has increased
this concern.”
Erdogan
caused another uproar in Germany last year after he called on Turks there not
to vote for the “enemies of Turkey” in that country’s parliamentary elections,
held in September. He openly targeted the Christian
Democrats, Social Democrats and the Greens. Erdogan was responding to criticism
of his authoritarian ways by the mainstream German parties and the ban on his
holding political rallies.
Koruturk
said that while serving in Germany, he found most Turks to be well-integrated,
including proficient in the German language. He also disputed the idea that the
63% who voted for the constitution's amendment represented “unintegrated
Turks.”
“Even
conservative Turks in Germany traditionally vote for the Social Democrats for
practical reasons,” Koruturk said. He added that many Turks in Germany who vote
for Erdogan and the AKP also do so for practical or opportunistic reasons.
Erdogan
is relying on the support of expatriate Turks in the upcoming presidential and
parliamentary elections, whatever their reasons for voting. Notwithstanding
serious irregularities in the balloting last year, the constitutional
referendum passed with a 51.3% majority, and by a margin of slightly more than
1.2 million votes. That was enough to illustrate the impact that the 3 million
Turkish voters across Europe — with 1.4 million of them in Germany — can have
in Turkish elections. The reasons behind the voting habits of Turks in Germany,
Holland and Austria are, nevertheless, varied and complex, driven by numerous
factors.
Ayhan
Kara, a professor of political science at Istanbul Bilgi University, maintains
that many Turks in Europe from disadvantaged backgrounds consider Erdogan to be
a paternal figure unafraid to challenge European leaders. “This strong father
figure becomes attractive to those with rather conservative religious
backgrounds, and mainly those coming from a disadvantaged socioeconomic
background,” Kaya told the Hurriyet Daily News in a recent interview. “These
are mostly people who have not taken German citizenship, for example, and are
also among the losers of neoliberalism and globalization.”
A similar
situation exists in Austria, with a Turkish minority of some 600,000 and
currently governed by an anti-immigration, ultra-conservative coalition led by
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, a vocal Erdogan critic and opponent of Turkey’s EU
membership bid. Kurz’s government recently decided to close seven mosques (out
of 250 in Austria) run by the AKP-linked Turkish-Islamic
Union for Cultural and Social Cooperation in Austria and to expel
their imams, whose salaries Turkey pays. This, too, was seen as a backlash
caused by Erdogan’s attempts to garner support among religious Turks in Europe.
The
Austrians' decision followed a highly nationalistic re-enactment by Turkish
children of Turkey's 1915 victory at Gallipoli. Held at one of Vienna’s largest
mosques, the piece not only praised religious martyrdom, but was also full of
Islamic invocations. Vienna said that parallel societies, Islamism and
radicalization have no place in Austrian society.
Erdogan’s
response to Kurz — a veiled threat that he said also applied to others in
Europe, especially Germany — appears unlikely to improve conditions for Turks
in Austria. Erdogan accused Kurz, 31, of being “too young to understand that he
is stoking a new war between cross and crescent. … This will bring [Kurz] much trouble,”
he said, adding that Turkey would not allow its brothers and sisters in Austria
to be oppressed. He warned of being prepared to do whatever it takes to prevent
it.
The
upshot is that Erdogan’s Turkish supporters in Europe have served him well, but
as long as Ankara's tone remains bellicose and vitriolic, it is unclear what
benefit they stand to receive in return to improve their lot where they live.
