Turkish-born MEP elected leader of German Greens[fr][de] 

The election of Özdemir marks a turning point towards wider ethnic representation in German politics, where Turks represent 3% of the population. Elected with 79.2% of the vote, Özdemir joins colleague Claudia Roth as co-chair. 

The 41-year old politician was first elected to the Bundestag in 1994, becoming the first person of Turkish descent to enter the German parliament. He then moved to the European Parliament in 2004, after being forced to give up his seat for allegedly using public-funded air miles for private travel. 

A member of the foreign affairs and justice and civil liberties committees, Özdemir is a strong advocate of a multicultural Europe. During his acceptance speech in Erfurt on Saturday, he said: "I want a society where everyone has an equal chance, regardless of where they are from." 

Born and raised in conservative Baden-Württemburg, Ozdemir reportedly decided to run for election to the national parliament after the Solingen arson attack, which killed five Turkish women and children in 1993. 

Looking ahead to federal elections planned for next year, German political analysts are speculating that the Greens, together with the Free Democrats, may win enough votes to become a junior coalition partner in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative alliance. In the last election in 2005, half a million Turks went to the polls. Most voted for the Social Democrats, with only five percent voting for Merkel and 9.2% for the Greens. 

The city of Hamburg has become a testing ground for such a coalition. Last February, the leading Christian Democrats opted to share their ruling mandate with the Greens. Although it is too early to say whether the model could be emulated nationally, it seems to work quite well at state level. 

Greens and conservatives have joined forces on climate change, despite their different positions on nuclear power. Özdemir would also have to convince a large proportion of the German population of Turkey’s EU membership credentials. He recently said that a hasty decision by Brussels to slam the door to Turkey would be fatal for further progress. Instead, "the EU and the member states must define a clear and positive position: that they still believe in the ongoing accession process; that they will support Turkey critically during its reform paths and that the Copenhagen criteria remain the benchmark during this process." 

Özdemir will remain an MEP until the end of his mandate.