A referendum as an indication of integration, or rather lack of it?

Turks celebrating in Berlin - ©Reuters

We had the Brexit referendum ten months ago when voters were expected to vote NO. Instead it was a YES. The result of this democratic exercise did not go down well in the EU.

Two days ago, Turkey had its referendum. People were expected to vote NO but it turned out to be a YES for Erdogan at 51.4%. Germany, and that is the EU, was displeased. Its chief anti Muslim hate monger & Interior Minister went in overdrive.

While 51.4% is a small majority, it nevertheless is one. The EU always seems to have a hard time with democratic election results and at times would rather dispense of them altogether, right Wolfi. What is baffling is the level of pro-Erdogan votes coming from the country with the highest percentage of Turkish expats, Germany. Sure, Austria still has a slightly higher percentage of Turks living there but is is also a much smaller country. Turks in Germany voted 63% Yes, but that is only half the picture. BILD has this graphic showing results by cities.

Here is more from European countries:

In Belgium, where voter turnout was above 53 percent, nearly 75 percent of voters opted for "yes." Belgium had been heavily criticized by Turkish officials and politicians for ignoring their calls for the extradition of terror convicts, and for allowing the PKK terrorist organization to hold rallies in Brussels, in order to put pressure on European officials and institutions during EU meetings.

An overwhelming 71 percent of some 118,000 voters in the Netherlands voted "yes."

In Austria, where officials implemented an aggressive anti-Turkey rhetoric, 73 percent votes went for "yes," with a turnout rate of 48 percent.

Turks in France also overwhelmingly voted "yes" with 65 percent of 142,000 voters (44 percent turnout rate) approved the constitutional reforms.

The turnout rate in Denmark was considerably low at 33 percent, although 60 percent of some 11,000 votes cast their ballots for "yes."

So Europe united in voting overwhelmingly YES? Let's look at the UK and elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Switzerland, Sweden and the U.K.'s sizeable Turkish expat community voted against the reforms with 62, 53 and 80 percent of the votes going to the "no" camp, respectively.

The results in the USA at 80% NO votes on average with Chicago coming in at 90% suggest that it might be an indication of way better integration. It is safe to say, Germany was never a beacon of successful integration. I would add one more, it is a resounding slap in the face of Merkel. Deservedly so.