Turkey is hurting its relationship with Europe

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is pulling all stops to gain victory in the forthcoming referendum in the country, and in turn hurting long-time relations with Europe, too. Yes, there are large numbers of Turks residing outside the borders of Turkey, mainly in Europe, whose votes could literally swing the tide in his favour. But Erdoğan should be respecting the boundaries, and not export territorial politics at will. By denouncing countries and calling Dutch, German and Austrian governments ‘Nazi remnants’ and ‘fascists,’ he isn’t playing a fair game. Erdoğan is aware that spats with Europe would eventually play well to the electorate back home. But he should be careful with his words. Europe is a key ally on many fronts and specifically with regard to the refugee crisis. The continent has taken a large burden off Turkey’s soil and absorbed more than a million people. The open door policy of present day Germany, in particular, has been one of the great positives in the whole refugee crisis — and in sharp contrast to the Nazi era. Yet, the row between Turkey and these European countries is turning extremely bitter by the hour.

Erdoğan is simply capitalising on fears following a failed coup attempt in July. Turkey was by far the most secular nation in the region. However, since the failed coup, the world has been witnessing its fall. Erdoğan wants to push through a more authoritarian system with few checks on his power, and transform parliamentary democracy into a presidential system. The plan has already been approved by Turkey’s parliament, where his Justice and Development Party (AKP) holds a majority of seats. A ‘yes’ in the referendum could arguably bring about the most significant political development in decades and empower Erdoğan to stand in two more election cycles, perhaps control the corridors of power until 2029. It might all be good in the short run. However, the play of events are surely going to adversely affect the Turkey-Europe relationship in the long run.