Netherlands, Turkey spar over international electioneering

German Chancellor Angela Merkel waded into a diplomatic row between the Netherlands and Turkey this morning, pledging her “full support and solidarity” for her European ally. Tensions between the two countries escalated over the weekend after Dutch officials ordered a Turkish official out of the country and forcefully quelled subsequent protests. Turkey’s family affairs minister, Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya, traveled to the Netherlands to attend a rally designed to whip up support for the Turkish prime minister among the 400,000 people with ties to Turkey who live in the Netherlands. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is holding a referendum April 16 on a measure that would greatly expand his powers. It’s not clear how many Turks living in the Netherlands would be eligible to vote. Erdogan called the Dutch reaction proof that “Nazism is alive in the West.” Merkel and other European leaders denounced such rhetoric as “completely unacceptable.” Turkey has lodged two formal complaints with the Dutch Embassy in Istanbul.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.