Germany's Turkey Travel Warning May Benefit Erdogan In Municipal Elections - Lawmaker

Germany's Turkey Travel Warning May Benefit Erdogan in Municipal Elections - Lawmaker

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may use Germany's recent toughening of its travel advisory for Turkey as a tool for domestic politics ahead of the upcoming local elections in the country, Ozturk Yilmaz, a member of the Turkish parliament, told Sputnik

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th March, 2019) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan may use Germany's recent toughening of its travel advisory for Turkey as a tool for domestic politics ahead of the upcoming local elections in the country, Ozturk Yilmaz, a member of the Turkish parliament, told Sputnik.

Berlin updated its travel advisory for Germans visiting Turkey on Saturday, warning that they could be arrested for expressing opinions that contradicted those of the Turkish government. Previously, Turkey had expelled two German journalists.

"This may escalate tensions in the run-up to the 31st March Municipality elections in Turkey, and, as always, play into Erdogan's hands by allowing him the maneuver to turn his propaganda from his ailing economy to outside [international relations] to consolidate nationalist senses," Yilmaz said.

The lawmaker noted that there have always been ups and downs in relations between Ankara and Berlin, especially after the failed coup in Turkey in July 2016.

"Future of relations between the two countries will be a kind of 'tension-progress-tension' circle," Yilmaz added.

In turn, Dr. Roland Hartwig, the vice-chairman of the Alternative for Germany party's parliamentary group in the Bundestag, said that Germany's newly tightened travel advisory was unlikely to trigger new tensions in bilateral relations.

"The German government has created a significant political dependency from Turkey, with the treaty on refugees entering into [force in] 2016. Since then Germany is showing a strange reservation in criticizing Turkey in public," Hartwig said.

The lawmaker noted that given such a dependency, bilateral relations would not change under the current German government.

The municipal elections in Turkey are held every five years. This year the elections are scheduled for March 31. According to the Supreme Electoral Council of Turkey, 13 political parties, including Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party, will be part of the election. Citizens will vote for city mayors, municipal councilors and other local officials.