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More Than a Vote: Türkiye-Origin New Europeans in Germany
Germany looks open on paper. It ranks 6th of 26 EU member states on the Migration Policy Group's Political Participation Policy Index and holds the only maximum score in the EU for encouraging naturalisation. Türkiye-origin politicians have also reached some of the country's most visible offices, from Cem Özdemir becoming Minister-President of Baden-Württemberg to Elif Eralp's historic result in the 2026 Berlin elections.
But do these success stories mean the representation gap has closed? A new FNF Türkiye policy paper by Başak Yavçan, Zeynep Yanaşmayan and Süleyman Furkan Çobankara suggests otherwise. After the 2021 election, 11.4% of Bundestag members had a migration background, compared with 27.2% of the population. At Land level the figure drops to 7.3%. Citizens with roots in Türkiye, around 1.2 million eligible voters, remain under-represented in party structures.
What the interviews reveal
The authors interviewed twelve Türkiye-origin party members, elected officials and consultative-body participants from across the political spectrum. Their accounts point to a clear pattern: joining a party is rarely the hard part. Becoming a candidate is. Access to winnable list positions runs largely through personal sponsorship and established networks rather than transparent, criteria-based selection. This matches the REPCHANCE Europe finding that most migrant-origin Bundestag careers end through non-renomination, not electoral defeat.
Consultative bodies such as Ausländerbeiräte and Integrationsräte offer another route into institutional politics. Participants value them, but their influence depends heavily on staffing, funding and local political support. Many described raising problems repeatedly with little follow-through.
Migration background itself plays a mixed role. For many, it was the reason they entered politics in the first place. For others, it brought expectations to speak on Türkiye or integration regardless of their actual portfolio, and additional scrutiny during candidacy.
Lessons from abroad
The paper looks at Luxembourg, Ireland and Sweden. Ireland's Register, Vote, Run programme helped more than double the number of migrant-background councillors between 2019 and 2024. Sweden shows that even fifty years of local voting rights do not close the gap when party gatekeeping stays unchanged. Luxembourg's abolition of its National Council for Foreigners is a reminder that consultative structures can be reversed.
What needs to change
The authors argue that reforms should target the nomination and list-making stage directly. Their recommendations include protecting the 2024 citizenship reform, publishing transparent candidate-selection criteria, securing public funding for mentoring programmes such as Deutschlandstiftung Integration's Diversify, and giving consultative bodies ring-fenced budgets and a real path to council decision-making.
The full report, including detailed recommendations for federal, Land and municipal levels and a dedicated section for political parties, is available below: