Minister for EU Affairs Ömer Çelik Evaluated General Elections held in Germany

Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Ömer Çelik evaluated general elections held in Germany. Indicating by an assessment over his Twitter account that the elections in Germany demonstrated new fault lines in German politics, Minister for EU Affairs Ömer Çelik pointed out that both the centre right (Angela Merkel) and the left (Martin Schulz) had lost nearly 15% of their votes, which was the greatest loss registered since World War II.

Minister for EU Affairs Ömer Çelik warned against the extreme right and racist movements on the rise in Europe:

“Even though the centre right and the left have not dissolved, extreme parties, in particular racist parties are at a point where they can determine outcomes. Just as in Europe in general, centre politics have shifted to the extreme right in Germany as well.  The French racist Marine Le Pen and the Dutch racist Geert Wilders, also hostile to Islam, have congratulated the AfD (Alternative for Germany) for their success in obtaining seats in the Bundestag.  The racist waves, also hostile to migrants and Islam, threaten the future of all Europe. The threat increases with every election.

The racist AfD has gained seats in the Bundestag for the first time as the third party. In addition, the AfD has not merely obtained protest votes.  The profile of the voters is concerning. The AfD has not just gained protest votes; a majority of its electorate are upper and middle class voters. This profile is alarming because it demonstrates that racism is increasing not in protest but because it is being embraced by society.”

Indicating that mainstream German politics owed much to Türkiye, the Minister for EU Affairs Ömer Çelik pointed out that Germany was less affected by irregular migration as a result of the Türkiye-EU Statement (regarding migration).

Indicating that in the absence of the Türkiye-EU Statement, the AfD may have gained up to 20% of the votes, German Chancellor Angela Merkel would not have a lead in the elections, and the centre right and the left may have completely dissolved, Minister for EU Affairs Ömer Çelik stated: “The German media and politicians are concerned about the rise of the extreme right. They have no right to complain. They created this situation themselves. They supported the extreme right by engaging in hostility to Islam, migrants and Türkiye. The extreme right gained its power from the discourse engaged in by centre politicians and the media.”

Reminding that he had warned his counterparts many times that hostility to Türkiye would cause the centre parties to lose votes, Minister for EU Affairs Ömer Çelik said: “Once again it has been demonstrated that hostility to Türkiye results in a loss of votes.”

Referring to Merkel’s statement that votes lost to the AfD needed to be recovered, Minister for EU Affairs Ömer Çelik indicated that this was a statement of vital importance and the methods selected would determine the future.

Stating that these parties would lose even more votes, and values would collapse, if they moved closer to extreme politics in order to gain votes from the extreme right, a mistake made by other European countries, Minister for EU Affairs Ömer Çelik said:

“The current situation is alarming. All who adhere to democratic politics need to be in solidarity. We are prepared to engage in common initiatives with defenders of European democratic values against racist groups. Once more, it has been demonstrated that opposing Türkiye’s EU membership only benefits racism in Europe. It should not be forgotten that speaking out against Türkiye’s EU membership in fact benefits the extreme right.”