A former elected EU representative has become a minister in the Turkish government of President Erdoğan, sparking discussion over whether dual citizens should be allowed to hold high political office in the bloc.
Mahinur Özdemir Göktaş, a Turkish-born politician who formerly served as an elected representative for a Belgian party within the European Union parliament, is Turkey’s new family and social minister.
The ease with which the dual-Belgian-Turkish citizen has seemingly been able to take on a top government position in a non-European Union member state has sparked debate amongst Belgians, with Tom Van Grieken — the leader of the populist Vlaams Belang party — calling for a ban on people with dual citizenship from holding political office.
According to a report by Euractiv, Özdemir initially started off political life in Belgium’s Humanist Democratic Centre, becoming the first person to wear a headscarf while serving in the Brussels Parliament in 2009.
However, she was later thrown out of the party in 2015 after reportedly denying the Armenian genocide, a move that was heavily criticised by Turkey’s AK Party, headed up by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who had reportedly attended Özdemir’s wedding in 2010.
Although continuing on as an independent representative in Brussels for a while longer, Özdemir went on to give up her life in the European capital to be appointed Turkey’s ambassador to Algeria by Erdoğan in 2019.
Her ascension to a senior ministerial position has now provoked concern amongst Belgium’s political class, with Van Grieken now openly pushing for those holding dual citizenship to be banned from holding office.
“Failed politicians in our country now get a second chance abroad,” the Vlaams Belang chairman said in a statement seen by Breitbart Europe. “The very first woman with a headscarf in the Brussels parliament is now also the only woman in Erdogan’s new government. Her denial of the Armenian Genocide has certainly done Göktas no harm.”
“The problem of dual nationality and the associated conflict of interest cannot be better illustrated than by the appointment of Göktas as a minister in the Turkish government,” he added. “Politicians here should work for people here and not serve the interests of foreign dictators.”
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— Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) May 30, 2023
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