Ethnic Turk elected co-leader of German Greens

BBC News reports:

The first ethnic Turkish head of a German political party has dismissed any comparisons between himself and US President-elect Barack Obama.

Cem Ozdemir, who was elected co-leader of the Green Party at the weekend, told Germany’s Bild am Sonntag newspaper such comparisons were “inappropriate”.

“It is enough for me to be Ozdemir of the Greens,” the 42-year-old said.

Mr Ozdemir’s rise has prompted comparisons with that of Mr Obama – who will be the first black US president.

At the Green Party’s weekend conference in Erfurt, eastern Germany, some of Mr Ozdemir’s supporters even wore badges that read “Yes We Cem”, in reference to an Obama campaign slogan.

Mr Ozdemir was born to Turkish Muslim parents in south-western Germany.

In 1994, he became the first ethnic Turk to be elected to the country’s parliament. In 2004, he won a seat in the European Parliament.

There are nearly three million ethnic Turks in Germany – making it the country’s largest ethnic minority.

Green Party Watch adds:

This weekend he was elected co-leader of the German Greens to serve along with Claudia Roth.

Additional coverage in Hurriyet:

What is important for me is not my election as a person of Turkish origin but my election despite this fact. Whatever one’s roots are they can be elected,” he said. “I want to invite all to be engaged in politics. I come from a working class family. If I could achieve this triumph others may well succeed as well. Every segment is part of our society.

And, from the International Herald Tribune:

I want a society where everyone has an equal chance, regardless of where they come from,” Ozdemir said in his acceptance speech at the Greens’ congress in the central city of Erfurt.