The Election in Germany and MPs of Turkish Origin

The winner of the last election in Germany is Olaf Scholz, a former minister and mayor. A veteran of the Social Democratic Party (SPD), Scholz has been in politics for some 45 years, and for 24 years he has served as an MP, mayor or minister. Known as the architect of the coronavirus aid packages, Scholz was most recently Angela Merkel’s vice-chancellor and finance minister. His wife is Brandenburg’s Minister of Education. In other words, a family that never leaves the official car.

Now to the MPs of Turkish origin…

The Turkish community is the one that, from the past to the present, has been most closely involved in politics in Germany and has adapted fastest to the country’s political life. A large part of this community, numbering some three million, keeps its distance from right-wing parties. The Social Democratic Party (SPD), meanwhile, is the first choice of nearly half the country’s Turkish population.

The number of MPs with a migrant background entering parliament does not exceed ten per cent of the total. Yet people with a migrant background make up about a quarter of Germany’s population. According to the SPD’s Hakan Demir, one of the youngest MPs of Turkish origin, this is a problem of democracy.

In the last election, about a hundred candidates with a migrant background ran for the federal parliament, and one fifth of them succeeded. Looking at the political profiles of these MPs, the following picture emerges. Politicians of Turkish origin who are MPs for the German right are rare. Most come from left-wing parties.

Most of these MPs are the children of guest workers (Gastarbeiter) who came to Germany in the 1960s. Almost all of them have been through a very good education and have held posts in the civil service. A considerable number have even worked in government offices dealing with migration and studied law. Although there are MPs among them who worked in factories, interestingly the number of MPs of Turkish origin without higher education can be counted on the fingers of one hand.

As might be expected of them, the problems of foreigners in Germany are at the top of the issues they deal with. They are not, however, much concerned with Türkiye’s agenda.

The best-known politician of Turkish origin is Cem Özdemir. The son of a guest worker family, Özdemir has been active on the political stage since 1994. His post in the new cabinet is Minister of Food and Agriculture. Cem Özdemir is a colourful politician known for statements that hit the nail on the head. For example, he opposes Turks living in Germany going to vote in Türkiye. He is a politician much loved by some Turks in Germany, hated by others, and the target of threats.

Unfortunately, many of the MPs of Turkish origin in the German parliament also show something like indifference towards Türkiye. Cem Özdemir, unlike the other MPs, is someone who also follows the agenda in Türkiye closely.

The Social Democrat Aydan Özoğuz is one of the guests who adapted fastest to German society. A philologist whose husband served in the German army and held leadership posts in the SPD, Özoğuz quickly made the transition from guest to host. Standing up not only for migrants of Turkish origin but for all foreigners (Ausländer) who come to Germany, Özoğuz is a figure who reacts against the rising far right in the country. Unfortunately, she too is an MP who has had her share of threats.

How their German colleagues view MPs of Turkish origin is another matter of debate. According to political scientist Frauke Miera[i], politicians of Turkish origin, chosen by parties that want to court the migrant community, can only get onto the candidate lists in the lowest places, and however successful they are, they are pushed into the background when it comes to critical positions in parliament (“mandate”). Some have even resigned from their party for this reason. There are also those who have a say in the party but still feel no relief, saying “I had to fight fiercely for this position”.

We have taken a brief look at the MPs of Turkish origin in Germany. Let us close with the words of political scientist Robert Dahl: “There are three great milestones in the development of democratic institutions: the right to vote, the right to be represented, and the right of opposition.”

[i] Miera Frauke, Political Participation Of Migrants In Germany, https://ec.europa.eu/migrant-integration/library-document/political-participation-migrants-germany_en, 2022