Germany leveraging its economic might on the world stage
LAST week, German foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel, interrupted his holiday on the North Sea to respond to Turkey’s jailing of a German human-rights activist. Gabriel warned German tourists about the dangers of visiting Turkey, and advised German firms to think twice before investing in a country where the authorities’ commitment to the rule of law is increasingly dubious.
This amounts to a new German policy toward Turkey, and it further confirms Germany’s status as an economic power. Gabriel’s announcement shocked the Turkish government, because it recalled Russian President Vladimir Putin’s response to Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane in 2015. The sanctions that Russia imposed cost Turkey’s already-struggling economy $15bn, and eventually forced Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to offer a groveling apology.
