Erdogan’s party to run in EU-election

The Turkish AKP party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will run in the European Elections in Germany, according to media reports, with high-ranking German politicians noting it will expand Turkish influence in the EU, local Turkish media reports.

The AKP affiliate in Germany, the Democratic Alliance for Diversity and Awakening (Dava), consists of four candidates who have all previously campaigned for Erdogan’s AKP, or its support organisations, Bild reported on Sunday.

High-ranking German politicians were quick to denounce the move as further contributing to the deterioration of the political climate within the country.

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“An Erdogan offshoot running for elections here is the last thing we need,” Green Agriculture Minister, Cem Ozdemir, who has a Turkish migration background, wrote on X.

The CDU, the largest opposition party, also criticised the move.

“An Erdogan-AKP offshoot in Germany would be another extreme party in the country, Deputy Leader, Jens Spahn of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group said on X.

There are currently 1.3 million German citizens who have a Turkish migration background, according to the German Federal Statistical Office, around 1.6 per cent of the German population.

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