A few days ago, German press published the German government's response to the request of the 'Left' parliamentary group MP, Sevim Dagdelen, regarding Turkey's support for Islamist groups in the Middle East. Based on data provided by the special services, the German government pointed out: "As a result of the domestic and foreign policy of Ankara, which has gradually become more and more Islamic since 2011, Turkey has turned into a platform for actions of Islamist groups in the Middle East region." The Berlin government's answer was confidential and was not supposed to be made public "for state interests," particularly in order not to aggravate already strong anti-Turkish sentiments in German society and among the political elite of the country.
As soon as this information was "leaked" to the press, the news immediately reached the front pages of leading mass media of the country and was presented as a foreign policy sensation. Actually, this information is nothing new, and it is definitely not sensational. Everyone already knows about the Islamist orientation of the Turkish ruling team, even without the German special services' data. The fact that Erdogan's conservative government supported the 'Muslim Brotherhood' movement in Egypt, as well as supports the anti-Assad coalition in Syria, is also no secret. There would be a serious diplomatic scandal only if the "terrorist organizations" phrase was used, but the document speaks about support for "Islamic groups". However, considering the huge number of bloody terrorist attacks committed by pseudo-religious terrorists, "Islamism" and "terrorism" are pretty much identical concepts in the Western public consciousness today. So the demonization of Ankara is under way, and it creates a negative background for negotiation for both sides.
It is unlikely that official Berlin is behind the "leak". On the contrary – the disclosure of confidential information is dictated by the desire of certain circles to once again put the federal government in an awkward position due to its unwillingness to stop cooperation with official Ankara on the issue of refugees in the framework of the agreement reached between the EU and Turkey.
The "eminence gris" of Angela Merkel's government, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble (CDU), said recently that no matter how Germany views Erdogan, cooperation with Turkey on the issue of refugees corresponds to the country's interests. Many people in Germany are not satisfied with this position. The party leadership is in favor of termination of negotiations on Turkey's accession to the EU, and calls the Euro-Turkish migration pact a "dirty deal", as a result of which many refugees will be doomed. It is noteworthy that along with 'Left', their ideological opponents, the right-wing party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), also harshly criticizes the agreement on refugees. This party made its political capital in the wake of intensified discontent with migrant citizens and the state's policy of "open borders" for refugees from the Middle East. Unlike the leftists, the far right party is driven by completely different motives: they want the EU to protect its external borders from illegal immigration by itself, and if necessary it should even use weapons against refugees (such scandalous statements were made in February of this year by the chairwoman of the AfD, Frauke Petry, as well as its Vice Chairwoman, Beatrix von Storch).
The growing criticism of the government due to the migration deal with Ankara is happening at the worst time for Angela Merkel and her CDU party, since there is only one year left before the elections to the Bundestag. Another wave of refugees, which could engulf Europe in case the deal with Turkey fails, threatens to finally bury the CDU's chances of remaining the ruling party after September 2017.
