Standing stiffly next to the Turkish leader at a news conference in Berlin on Friday, she noted "deep-seated differences" between the two countries regarding press freedom and the rule of law, and she insisted that Erdogan release several political prisoners held in Turkey including five German citizens.

"I have urged that these cases be solved as quickly as possible," Merkel said, as Erdogan stared straight ahead.

'Deploying Nazi tactics'

Facing the worst economic crisis in his country in 15 years, the Turkish leader had toned down his anti-Western rhetoric in recent weeks. Only a year ago, he called the German government "enemies of Turkey." Turkish officials accused Berlin of deploying Nazi tactics, and Turkish newspapers called German companies in Turkey spies.

This week, Erdogan said, "We want to completely leave behind all the problems and to create a warm environment between Turkey and Germany just like it used to be."

'Stop German support for Erdogan' reads the protest sign held by a woman in Berlin as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in the capital on an official visit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. AP

But the façade tumbled quickly, as it has tumbled before.

Among the names on the extradition list, which was submitted to the Foreign Ministry in Berlin on Monday, according to the Turkish newspaper Yeni Akit, is Can Dundar, the former editor-in-chief of the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet.


Dundar fled Turkey in 2016 after he was convicted of treason and espionage for reporting a year earlier that Turkey's Secret Service had delivered arms to the Islamic State group. His wife remains in Turkey and is not allowed to leave the country.

When Erdogan was informed that Dundar planned to be at the news conference with Merkel, the Turkish president threatened to call off the whole thing. In the end, Dundar said he would not go to ensure that colleagues would have an opportunity to ask Erdogan critical questions.

'Germany has an interest in an economically stable Turkey,' says Chancellor Angela Merkel. Bloomberg

Asked whether Merkel considered it a provocation that Dundar's name was on the extradition list, the chancellor was blunt: "It's no secret that there is controversy in this case."

Erdogan, meanwhile, reiterated that Dundar was "an agent" who had published state secrets.

Clumsy diplomacy

Though not holding back her criticism, Merkel was visibly uncomfortable with a joint appearance that showed clumsy diplomacy not just from the Turkish president but also from a Western power that ultimately has to deal with a budding dictator on Europe's border.

At one point during the news conference, a photographer in the front row slipped on a T-shirt with a message of support for journalists jailed in Turkey. The man, a photographer for a Turkish-language news site in Germany, was swiftly removed by security personnel as Erdogan looked on and smiled.


A woman holds a poster to protest against the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Berlin. AP

The Munich newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung described the scene as one "you'd expect more in Erdogan's Turkey."

Merkel stressed that Germany and Turkey, both NATO members, had many shared strategic interests. She announced a meeting with the leaders of France, Turkey and Russia in October to discuss the situation in Syria, in particular the rebel stronghold of Idlib.

"We have a lot that unites us," she said at the news conference, singling out questions of migration and the fight against terrorism. She also expressed hope that Turkey's economic turmoil would abate.

"Germany has an interest in an economically stable Turkey," she said.

Won't change his spots

Erdogan is secure in his newly powerful presidency. But the Turkish economy is in bad shape. The lira has come under severe pressure losing nearly 40 per cent of its value this year buffeted by high inflation and surging foreign debt. As the lira has fallen in value, Turkish companies have struggled to make debt payments.

But if the Turkish president was looking to reassure financial markets, improve business ties and seek political support, he went about it clumsily.


A photograph of him driving through Berlin and making what appeared to be the hand sign of Muslim Brotherhood supporters one used by Erdogan on previous occasions was widely shared on German social media.

"It's hard to see how to mock the values of our country more," Julian Reichelt, the editor of Bild, said on Twitter.

Cem Ozdemir, a Turkish-German lawmaker and longtime Erdogan critic, put it in an interview with the newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "Erdogan has no intention of changing his spots, despite his attempts at a charm offensive."

Erdogan's diplomatic approach was reminiscent of his trip to Greece last winter, which went less than swimmingly the Turkish leader suggested readjusting borders, even before he arrived in Athens.

The state visit in Germany is hosted by the German president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose role is largely ceremonial. It has been met with a wave of criticism.

Thousands of protesters, including many of Turkish origin, took to the streets of Berlin near Erdogan's hotel on Friday afternoon. One banner, held by a Kurdish woman standing near the Brandenburg Gate read, "Erdogan you're not a leader, you're a dictator." Another declared, "Get lost, Erdogan!"

Several German lawmakers joined the protests rather than attend a state banquet Friday night.

​

The New York Times