Germany has not experienced such an incident throughout its history.
The Christian Social Union (CSU) in Bavaria is in a state of panic ahead of the Bavarian state election to be held on Oct. 14. The party is not only undermining the future of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the coalition that constitutes the federal government, but it is also breaching all the values that constitute the backbone of Germany and the EU. The name and identity of the party is in stark contrast with its approach to the refugee issue.
To compete with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) in the run up to the state election, the CSU has adopted and gone beyond the racist tendencies of the AfD. Maybe it would not be surprising or disheartening if the AfD won the election since we at least know what motivates the party. But at this point, it is very difficult to guess the CSU's true motivations, which is alarming.
To secure its power in Bavaria, the CSU has adopted an anti-refugee stance and disregarded the founding values of Germany and Europe. The paragraph regarding asylum rights in the German Constitution is about to lose its effect completely. This frantic state of the CSU is threatening not only its ally, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), but Germany as a whole and the EU.
The CSU is about to add fuel to the unstoppable rise of racist and far-right parties and groups across Europe. Besides, it is seeking to take sides with racists as a "center party," which is a very grave picture for the EU.
During the first days of July, the EU term presidency of Austria, where a far-right party is in power, has started whereas a government crisis has erupted in Germany caused by the CSU due to the refugee challenge. It is interesting that these two developments concurred.
Starting his EU term presidency with some anti-Turkish remarks, Austrian Prime Minister Sebastian Kurz paid a visit to the CSU Chair and Bavarian Minister President Markus Söder in the end of June in Munich to show his support for the CSU. Söder is getting along with Kurz since the former demands an even stricter refugee policy than Interior Minister Horst Seehofer from the CSU.
Kurz, Söder and Seehofer are not alone. For instance, Italy's new Interior Minister Matteo Salvini is also a far-right politician. Even Kurz and Söder cannot compete with Salvini in anti-refugee discourse.
Although the EU has been refusing to accept Turkey in the union on the grounds that the country is not meeting the democracy standards of the EU, th
e EU members' democracies are questionable now. Every day, another EU country or administrator issues decisions or statements that disregard EU values.
If the democrats of the EU are not willing to take on a role reminiscent to the "Last of the Mohicans," they have to adopt a stance against the rising racism. The CSU, Kurz, the AfD, Le Pen and Söder are already in anti-Turkish positions. There is no need for the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Greens, the Liberals and the CDU to contribute to this trend.
For the future of the European continent, it is crucial for the Christian and social democrats, greens and liberals to side with Muslims and Turks and receive their support. Christian and Muslim democrats have to be the guarantors of democracy in Europe. The solidarity of Europeans against the threats posed by racists and far-right radicals is of vital importance. To that end, Turkey's support is essential.
We all have to unite and defend the EU's values.
