Turkish MP candidate for German CDU: People asked if I'd become Christian

Ayşegül Karakülhancı / DUVAR

An MP candidate from Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Serap Güler, said that the Turkish diaspora in the European country had asked her family if she had become a Christian when she joined the party in 2009. 

"People asked my father in the coffee house whether his daughter was now a Christian," Güler said, adding that the party's image in Germany had evolved greatly in recent years thanks to Chancellor Angela Merkel. 

Güler first became interested in the CDU after graduating from college, when she was very interested in integration policies, and Merkel had created the position of Minister of State for Migration, Refugees and Integration.

"My position was just closer to CDU. Of course, I didn't agree with them on everything," Güler said. "I disagree with CDU on the topic of dual citizenship."

A topic of contention between Ankara and the European Union (EU), Güler said that she falls closer to the CDU's standpoint about the migration deal signed between Turkey and the EU in 2016 in an attempt to regulate the mass migration of Syrian refugees away from their homeland. 

Europe has often come under fire for supporting the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and avoiding assisting the humanitarian crisis directly.

"There are currently almost three million Syrian migrants in Turkey. These people need perspective on jobs and education. It's definitely not easy for Turkey to manage this alone. So this deal was an advantage for the migrants," Güler said. 

The politician also said that it would be unfair to say Europe had turned its back on a humanitarian duty and that migrants were merely "coming to Europe in fewer numbers and slowly."