Germany wants to develop its bilateral relations with Türkiye, which are unique thanks to various bonds, according to Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who touted room for further progress.
Speaking to Turkish newspaper Hürriyet in an interview published Friday ahead of Germany's early elections on Feb. 23, the chancellor pointed out the advancing relations between his country and Türkiye and praised the latter’s key role in the region amid unfolding developments like the Syrian revolution, as well as the wars in Ukraine and the Gaza Strip.
Türkiye's influence in the region has been considerably boosted following the fall of Syria's long-time autocrat Bashar Assad, who was backed by Russia and Iran.
German President Frank Walter-Steinmeier similarly underscored Türkiye’s role in securing regional peace as he met with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the capital Ankara earlier this week.
“President Erdoğan and I are in frequent and busy contact; we discuss many shared issues that concern us,” Scholz told Hürriyet.
“I have made a lot of effort to improve the relations between Türkiye and the European Union. We really want to make progress on this matter,” he added.
Türkiye has been a candidate for EU membership for over two decades, but talks stalled in 2016 over what Ankara says is the bloc’s “insistence on politicizing the issue.”
“What matters right now is that Türkiye and the EU improve their relations, for which we must resolve many bilateral problems,” Scholz said, adding that he was “personally engaging” to see progress on the said issue.
The chancellor also recalled Ankara’s “intense engagement” to find a solution to the “disastrous” war in Ukraine, noting that its contribution to the Black Sea grain deal was “vital” for Ukrainian grains to be shipped to Africa and other places.
Many Turks have been living in Germany for years, the economic ties between Türkiye and Germany, Türkiye as a beautiful resort country and Turkish cuisine, Scholz said as he listed the things that make Turkish-German ties “even more special.”
He attributed Germany’s current economic welfare to the “guest workers” invited from mostly Türkiye and others to rebuild Germany in the 1950s and ‘60s.
“One-third of our people comes from other countries, many of whom from Türkiye. That is why as chancellor I am pleased to have passed the citizenship law reform,” Scholz said.
After much debate, Germany passed its naturalization law in June last year, allowing applicants to retain their native citizenship and obtain German citizenship while reducing the requirement of eight years to five years, among many other advantages.
The Turkish community in Germany, one of the largest in Europe with a population of over 3 million people, grew out of small groups of Turkish "guest workers" brought in for rebuilding post-World War II Germany.
The law also contains carve-outs to encourage the "guest worker" generation. Written tests and other conditions for citizenship, namely a formal language or citizenship test, are not valid for them.
Turkish and German authorities alike have been inundated with applications since.
But the increasingly dominant far-right in Germany plans to annul the law as the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian sister party the Christian Social Union (CSU) wage an intense anti-migration campaign for the parliamentary election scheduled for later this month.
“This would be a major mistake for our country,” Scholz said. “But the voters will make the decision on Feb. 23.”
He argued that most Germans approved of the citizenship law reform and urged the electorate to “demonstrate that by voting for the right party.”
Scholz’s center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD) is holding steady at 15%, according to the latest polls. But left-wing parties are yet to benefit from conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz's divisive decision to lean on far-right votes in parliament.
The far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) dipped by a single point but remained solidly in second place at 20%, a poll commissioned by public broadcaster ZDF found.
The ZDF poll is the latest in a series of surveys that suggest Merz has not suffered with voters for his highly controversial move to force through a vote on a resolution demanding a crackdown on migration policy last week, which passed thanks to the backing of AfD lawmakers.
The development prompted a firestorm of criticism from other parties and a wave of street protests in Germany, as it appeared to break a long-standing taboo against any type of cooperation with far-right political forces.
More than a million German citizens with Turkish roots are expected to vote in the Feb. 23 elections.
Although most German-Turkish voters have traditionally supported the Social Democrats and the Greens, Merz in an interview with Anadolu Agency (AA) last week claimed he believes the CDU/CSU policies offer the best solutions to the country's challenges, benefiting all citizens, including those with immigrant backgrounds.
