Turkish President Erdogan’s election campaigns in Europe could pose problem
As Turkey braces for a snap election in June, which will shift the country from a parliamentary system to a presidential one, leading candidate President Recep Tayyip Erdogan could face complications if he decides to campaign in European countries.
“I will be present in a meeting of an international organization in a stadium of 10 to 11 thousand people, and I will address my citizens there,” said Erdogan in an interview at the weekend with private NTV broadcaster.
The Turkish head of state did not say which European country he was planning to visit during his tight election campaign schedule.
In a sudden change of heart, according to experts, to get ahead of a looming economic emergency, Erdogan called snap legislative and presidential elections on June 24, bringing the polls forward by a year and a half before the initial date of November 2019, in order to swiftly strengthen his power.
European countries such as Austria and the Netherlands have announced that they would not welcome any possible campaigning on their lands for the Turkish diaspora who live there. Other countries are also expected to follow that approach, according to observers.
During the interview, Erdogan criticized Austria for planning to ban any possible campaign for the upcoming elections, saying that countries which attempt to undermine Turkey’s democratic process would “pay a price.”
Erdogan especially took aim at Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who said campaign events would “not be welcomed” and not be allowed.
Erdogan said steps taken by Kurz would “entirely turn against him,” and “Turkey’s struggle for democracy cannot be easily restricted.”
The early election will accelerate the transition to a new presidential system which arouses critics’ concern of paving the road to one-man rule.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has announced that his country will not allow Turkish politicians to carry out election campaign rallies, adding that Berlin had brought in a series of legal arrangements prohibiting political rallies for foreign politicians after the Turkish April 2017 referendum.
“Our attitude regarding the matter is clear. In the three-month period ahead of elections in a foreign country, politicians will not be authorized to carry out election campaigns in Germany,” Maas told reporters at a meeting as part of the G7 Summit in Toronto, Canada.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte also said that campaigning in the Netherlands would be “undesirable.”
Ahead of the referendum in Turkey last year, Dutch authorities actively intervened to prevent a Turkish minister from reaching a consulate in Rotterdam to address Turks living there, leading to a diplomatic crisis.
Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik also blasted the prime ministers of Austria and the Netherlands, saying they were “not leaning on democratic values.”
Experts argue that President Erdogan, also the leader of the ruling Justice and Development party governing Turkey for nearly 16 years, may face problems in campaigning in Western European countries because of bad blood since the 2017 constitutional referendum.
“The question is whether the ruling party and presidential candidate are planning campaigns in countries such as Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, France and Denmark, where sizeable Turkish communities live,” said political commentator Serkan Demirtas.