Germany's patience with Erdogan may be running out
The latest moves by the German government against Turkey suggest Germany's patience with President Erdogan may have run its course.
Turkish-German relations may be moving toward a point of no return. Despite its continuing angry tone toward Berlin, though, Ankara is visibly worried that the deteriorating state of its ties with Germany could have serious negative effects on Turkey’s already shaky economy and is trying to contain this.
Too much has happened between the sides over the past year for this effort to succeed the way Ankara wants it to. Germany is signaling instead that it is abandoning its policy of appeasement and will opt for punitive measures against Turkey.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has also weighed in to support this by saying it is “a question of the self-respect of our land to send a meaningful message [to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan].”
Erdogan, however, is clearly not interested in toning down his harsh anti-German rhetoric, or in meeting Berlin’s demands regarding democracy and human rights in Turkey. His angry tone against that country, which he says is harboring plotters who tried to overthrow him in last year’s failed coup attempt, goes down well with his support base in Turkey and, ironically, also among Turks in Germany.
