Erdogan let his hatred for Angela Merkel fly over when he urged Turkish Germans not to vote for her re-election.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan let his hatred for German Chancellor Angela Merkel fly over the weekend when he urged Turkish Germans not to vote for her re-election.

After strengthening his nation’s relationship with Russia, and promising to do the same with Iran, the head of NATO’s largest member state in Western Asia has continued to increase tensions within the North Atlantic Alliance. The U.S.-Turkish relationship began fraying during the Obama administration, but Erdogan’s outright disdain for Merkel dates back even farther.

It boiled over Friday, when he said:

"I am calling on all my countrymen in Germany: the Christian Democrats, SDP, the Green Party are all enemies of Turkey. Support those political parties who are not enemies of Turkey."

"I call on them not to vote for those parties who have been engaged in such aggressive, disrespectful attitudes against Turkey, and I invite them to teach a lesson to those political parties at the ballot box."

Germans head to the polls in a little over a month to vote for new government leadership. Merkel is seeking a fourth term as chancellor and her Christian Democratic Union has a monumental lead over its biggest rival, the Social Democratic Party.

Even if Merkel were to lose the election, it’s highly unlikely she would be replaced by someone who is friendlier to Turkey. The three parties of the government coalition—Merkel’s CDU, the SDP, and the Christian Social Union of Bavaria—hold 502 of the 630 seats in the Bundestag.

Erdogan has long wanted Turkey to join the European Union, but has been blocked by Merkel’s government. Additional efforts to deepen Turkish-EU ties have also been blocked by the Germans. The final straw was when Merkel became a frequent vocal critic of Erdogan’s crackdown following last year’s failed coup.

Credit to Trunews