Politicians concerned about new ‘Erdogan party’ in Germany: “The last thing we need” | Abroad

The new Dava party wants to score among Erdogan supporters in Germany in the European elections. The list includes candidates from Turkish President Erdogan’s AKP circle. For example, one candidate is the former head of an organization that was banned for supporting Hamas.

Dava stands for ‘Demokratische Allianz für Vielfalt und Aufbruch’ (Democratic Alliance for Diversity and Awareness, ed.). Erdogan’s party will try to mobilize Muslims in particular. The two Islamic organizations Ditib and IGMG are said to be involved in the founding of the DAVA party.

“The party wants to use the structures of Ditib and IGMG to reach the electorate,” Islam expert Eren Güvercin told ‘Bild’. There will be a lot of campaigning in the mosques to appeal to the Turkish and Muslim community, it is said.

“It is realistic that ‘DAVA’ will get two or three candidates in the European Parliament,” estimates Güvercin. For Erdogan, the European elections are a test to see “how many people he can mobilize in the community.”

Politicians from several parties in Germany have expressed concern about the creation of the new party. Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir wrote on X on Sunday: “An Erdogan party participating in elections here is the last thing we need.”

Politician Christoph de Vries (CDU) tells ‘Bild’ that the German government “should under no circumstances take the foundation of this new party lightly”. The security services should closely monitor all activities of this party and its ties with the Turkish government and intervene if the Turkish government were to exert direct influence, it said.

“It is an alarm signal for developments in Germany,” Joachim Herrmann (CSU), Minister of the Interior of Bavaria, told ‘Die Welt’.

If Erdogan is successful with the new party in June, it would be a major symbolic victory for him. “Then he can conduct pure AKP propaganda in the European Parliament,” the Islam expert concludes.

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