German media and the expert community continue to discuss the recent visit of Chancellor Angela Merkel to Ankara, where she held talks with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. It is known that the attitude of the political elite of Germany to the Government of Turkey is not the best. And Merkel's quick visit to Ankara, while she is caught in the grip of the refugee crisis in Europe, has caused mixed reactions in her homeland.
Among the most vocal critics of the visit was the Green Party, whose chairman, Cem Ozdemir, even demanded that the Chancellor not meet with Erdogan during her visit.
The head of the Istanbul representative office of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation, Hans-Georg Fleck, expressed surprise at the "timing" of the visit. Because Angela Merkel decided to hold talks with the Turkish government 14 days before the parliamentary elections, which are crucial for the future of the country. At the same time, the expert acknowledged that ignoring Erdogan and refusing to meet with him would be a politically short-sighted step.
The head of the Turkish state, according to Fleck, is currently in a stronger negotiating position than the German Chancellor. The expert predicts that the results of the upcoming parliamentary elections will be almost identical to the last ones, but notes that the ruling Justice and Development Party still has chances of getting an absolute majority in the parliament.
According to a deputy from the Green Party, Ozcan Mutlu, Merkel's visit to Turkey is playing into the hands of President Erdogan. "Right now, Ankara and the pro-government media are celebrating this event as a success for the president," Mutlu stated, noting that the Chancellor, in so doing, provided Erdogan with perfect electoral support. "The visit at this time shows the absolute despair of Merkel regarding the issue of refugees," the MP believes.
Professor of political science Udo Steinbach also holds the view that Merkel's visit to Turkey, especially after the terrorist attack in Ankara, will bring domestic dividends to Erdogan before the elections.
Yasmin Fatiha, the general secretary of the Social Democratic Party, in her turn, believes that the improvement of bilateral relations is in the interests of Germany, Turkey, and the whole of Europe. "Even if conditions in the international arena and within Turkey itself are extremely difficult, there is no alternative to cooperation with Turkey," the Secretary General of the SPD stated. "In the end, we are talking about the improvement of the situation with refugees," she added.
A member of the Bundestag from the CDU party, Elmar Brok, is of the opinion that the visit is most beneficial for the German Chancellor, as well as all citizens of the EU countries. After all, its goal is to reduce the number of refugees heading for Germany and Europe. Undoubtedly Erdogan also wins, because his position in the parliamentary elections in November will be strengthened. "But we have no alternative if we want to reduce the influx of refugees to the EU," Brok believes.
The director of the German Institute for Economic Studies, Professor Marcel Fratzscher, is confident that both sides will benefit from Merkel's Turkish voyage. Fratzscher believes that Turkey's economic future increasingly depends on integration with Europe. Germany only wins from strongly tying Turkey to itself. The expert stressed the importance of the Turkish market for German exporters, as well as Turkey's role in resolving the refugee crisis.
