Cem Özdemir, first German state premier with Turkish roots
Key takeaways
- Cem Özdemir is the first leader of a German federal state to have Turkish roots.
- The Green Party politician rejects the notion that he is a model of successful integration.
- Can the Greens hold on to their one stronghold in Germany?To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Cem Özdemir is the first leader of a German federal state to have Turkish roots. His Green Party won elections in the wealthy southwestern region of Baden-Württemberg.
https://p.dw.com/p/59wo0Cem Özdemir's popularity in his home state has positively affected his party's fortunes Image: Marijan Murat/dpa/picture alliance Advertisement Cem Özdemir likes to jokingly refer to himself as an "Anatolian Swabian," in reference to the region of Swabia in Baden-Württemberg, where he was born 60 years ago, and the home region of his parents: Anatolia in Turkey.
The Green Party politician rejects the notion that he is a model of successful integration. After all, he says, he never needed to be integrated: His home has always been Germany. When lawmakers from the anti-immigration far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) attacked him back in 2018, telling him to "go home" to Turkey, he responded from the pulpit in the Bundestag: "I'll indeed be going home on Saturday, when I will catch a flight to Stuttgart and then take the regional train to Bad Urach. That is my Swabian home, and I won't let you tell me otherwise."