German and Kurdish votes do not help Turkish positions

"We warned you that the far right is on the rise," said Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan on Sept. 25, implicitly addressing German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as if she was not aware of the rise in xenophobic, even racist votes in her own country. Merkel had lost some votes in Germany's election on Sept. 24 but she still holds the power, having been elected for the fourth time in a row, breaking the record of Europe's first iron lady, Margaret Thatcher.

The most likely coalition is speculated to be formed between Merkel's CDU/CSU, the liberal FDP and the Greens, after Martin Shulz of the SPD decided to stay out of government. Shulz said he would try to heal the wounds of the Social Democrats, but his move will also have provided some relief for Merkel as it means the main opposition post will not be left to the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

One of Merkel's main political tasks will be to win back votes for the CDU/CSU from the AfD. She successfully did something similar in the past, weakening the Greens by following an ambitious environmentalist energy policy. 

In order to weaken the AfD she may now shift to a new immigration policy, but every step that she could take in that field would draw the attention of Turkish President Erdoğan because of the over 3 million Turkey-origin people living in Germany. 

After recently saying she does not want Turkish domestic politics to have negative effects on German politics - and taking account of similar views in the Liberal and Green flanks - Merkel could take a number of steps. She could move on double citizenship, not allowing people to vote in both countries, and not allowing the domestic political propaganda of other countries to be carried out in Germany, which has been one of...