MERKEL IS THE ENEMY: Erdogan launches blistering attack on German leader WEEKS before vote
RECEP Tayyip Erdogan has sensationally branded Angela Merkel an “enemy of Turkey” and called on Turks living in Germany to vote against her in next month’s elections.
Erdogan: The people of Turkey don't want the EU anymore
The Turkish leader’s criticism of the German chancellor comes after months of increasingly hostile relations between Berlin and Ankara and with around four million Turks living in Germany, his comments could have a serious impact on the elections, which is now just weeks away.
Speaking after prayers in Istanbul, Erdogan said: "I am calling on all my countrymen in Germany: the Christian Democrats, SDP, the Green Party are all enemies of Turkey.
“Support those political parties who are not enemies of Turkey.
“I call on them not to vote for those parties who have been engaged in such aggressive, disrespectful attitudes against Turkey, and I invite them to teach a lesson to those political parties at the ballot box.”
Erdogan's extraordinary outburst is unlikely to do Merkel any favours in next month's election
Hitting back, Mrs Merkel said: "We will not tolerate any kind of interference.”
Foreign minister Sigmar Gabriel described the remarks as "unprecedented" interference with Germany's sovereignty.
Germany has voiced concern that Erdogan is using the coup as a pretext to quash dissent. Erdogan, an authoritarian leader whose roots are in political Islam, has accused Germany of anti-Turkish and anti-Muslim sentiment.
Mr Gabriel urged ethnic Turks to use their vote regardless. He said: ”Let's show those who want to set us against each other that we are not playing their game.
Germany has been highly critical of Turkey’s crackdown following last year’s failed coup - authorities detained more than 50,000 people and sacked or suspended 150,000, drawing criticism from Europe.
Erdogan's rallying cry comes after Mrs Merkel claimed there would be no expansion of the customs union between Turkey and the European Union - as well as "no kind of deepening at all" in ties between Berlin and Ankara.
She said recent tensions made it impossible to enhance ties between the two powers - despite claiming Turkey’s EU accession talks should continue in an “open-ended” manner.
Erdogan greets supporters after performing the Friday prayer in Istanbul
She said: “For the time being, we would not carry out talks with Turkey on improving, enhancing the Customs Union.
"There will be no pre-accession assistance to Turkey, for areas where we do not clearly know where the money is going.”
The EU had originally planned to allocate around £3.6billion (€4billion) for Turkey between 2014 and 2020 to encourage the country to adopt European standards in various fields including rule of law, human rights and press freedom.
So far, only £172million (€189million) has been delivered to Ankara and recent tensions mean further financial assistance may no longer be available.
Yesterday, Turkey’s EU minister Omer Celik criticised the German leader for assuming too big a role in the bloc.
He said: "This is an unfortunate statement. We should emphasise that no EU member should give orders to EU institutions or EU processes.
"These situations are very dangerous. They represent statements that harm the EU's credibility.
“They are acting as if doing so is a favour to Turkey.
“Let me be very clear, we are in no rush.”