The Turkey Debate in Germany

“Should Erdogan really search for a compromise with the other parties regarding the
constitutional question, this will be much more difficult than with a two-thirds majority.
But the country deserves a new constitution. A politics of compromise would also be
appreciated abroad – not only in Europe, which only interests a few people in Turkey
nowadays, but also in the Middle East.” 116
Boris Kalnoky, writing in Die Welt, focuses on the results themselves. He points out that the
overwhelming victory of the AKP, which obtained 3 per cent more votes than in the 2007
elections, appears all the more impressive when viewed on a province-by-province basis. The
secular CHP, despite obtaining 25.9 per cent of the overall vote, came in first only in seven of
81 Turkish provinces, most of them in the country’s “European West.” 117 The six
Southeastern provinces, inhabited mainly by Kurds, went to the “independent” candidates
belonging to the Kurdish BDP. Despite a sex scandal that caused the resignations of several
of its members, the nationalist MHP managed to obtain 13 per cent of the overall vote. It won
outright in only one province. 118
In a commentary for taz, Istanbul correspondent Jurgen Gottschlich explains that the election
results have prevented Erdogan from becoming a “temporary dictator.” 119 While Gottschlich
considers it questionable how much energy Erdogan will be prepared to invest in a new
constitution, he considers that the more important mission consists in addressing the conflict
with the Kurdish minority. By finding a real compromise between the army and the Kurdish
nationalists, Gottschlich believes, Erdogan could secure his place in history. 120
Gerd Hohler, Istanbul correspondent for the liberal daily Frankfurter Rundschau, welcomes
the election results and suggests that “Turkey needs a strong democracy, not an almighty man
at the head of the state.” 121 Regarding the drafting of a new Constitution, Hohler believes that
the head of state needs “not more, but fewer competences,” pointing out that from 2002 to
2007 numerous democratic reforms fell victim to then-President Ahmet Sezer’s vetoes.
Instead of seeking to increase his own power, Hohler adds, Erdogan should focus on
economic and financial policy so as to prevent the Turkish economy from overheating.
Moreover, foreign policy remains an important area of concern, not least because of the
dramatic escalation of the situation in Syria and the resulting influx of thousands of refugees
into Turkey. 122
In an article for Der Spiegel, Maximilian Popp, previously a freelance correspondent in
Istanbul, focuses on Erdogan’s need to clarify his relations with Europe. Popp considers that
while Erdogan’s declared aim eight years ago was to lead Turkey into the EU:
“He has never been further away from this goal than today. The two partners have grown
apart. They simply do not dare to pronounce what everyone else knows: that Europe and
Turkey no longer have much to say to each other.” 123
The weekly magazine Focus reports that EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and
Council President Hermann van Rompuy congratulated Erdogan on his victory in a joint
116
Ibid.
117
Die Welt, Erdogan ist in der Turkei nicht mehr aufzuhalten, 13 June.
118
Ibid.
119
taz, Erdogans Platz in der Geschichte, 13 June.
120
Ibid.
121
Frankfurter Rundschau, Vernunftiger Dampfer, 14 June.
122
Ibid.
123
Spiegel, Warum Erdogan Europa braucht, 13 June.
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