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09/28/2009

The center-right CDU-FDP victory made for considerable unease in Turkey. The defeat of the SPD, which has always advocated Turkey's admission into the European Union, can't be good news for Ankara, commentators opined. "In Germany, the opponents of Turkey have won," the daily Milliyet wrote. It said rhetoric against Turkey's accession was likely to get louder.

Merkel has consistently favored a privileged partnership between the EU and Ankara over full membership. But the SPD worked a provision into the coalition agreement that kept the German position unchanged and allowed negotiations on EU admission to continue. Now there's worry in Turkey that Merkel and Sarkozy can pursue their opposition to Turkey's entry with new resolve.

The daily Zaman opined that the results were a risk for Turkey and would have negative consequences for its path into the EU. CNN Türk, on its Web site, said the "worst scenario" had become the reality for Ankara.

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• Part 1: How the World Views Germany's New Government
• Part 2: Great Britain - Less than Two Lines from Gordon Brown
• Part 3: France - A Handwritten Note from 'Your Friend' Nicolas Sarkozy
• Part 4: Russia - Eyeing the FDP Wildcard
• Part 5: Turkey - Rocky Road to EU Admission Is Seen
• Part 6: Brussels: NATO and EU Expect Continuity