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SPD politician Ahmetović: "It's seething in the region"
Photo:
Andreas Chudowski / DER SPIEGEL
The state of Bosnia and Herzegovina rarely dominates the international headlines.
But then he suddenly appears in the news, for example when the federal government sends soldiers there - or through curiosities.
The latest example: the freak out of the German CSU politician Christian Schmidt.
As High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, he is to ensure on behalf of the international community that the Dayton Peace Agreement, which ended the civil war in the country in 1995, is consistently implemented.
But at a press conference, Schmidt showed little diplomacy and reacted to a critical question about the planned electoral law reform with an outburst of anger.
Adis Ahmetović would certainly wish Bosnia and Herzegovina got more attention, and not just when a diplomat freaks out.
For a long time, the 29-year-old member of the Bundestag has been trying to gain more visibility and interest in his parents' homeland.
In Germany, the SPD man is a backbencher, but in Bosnia and Herzegovina he is treated like some kind of star.
After Schmidt's tantrum, Ahmetović said the reaction was "absolutely inappropriate" and that Schmidt harmed "the reputation and effectiveness of the office."
The young politician's family comes from eastern Bosnia; his parents fled to Germany in 1992 before the war.
He himself was born in Hanover.
Ahmetović has made the Western Balkans his political topic, he calls it "fate" that as a child of Bosnian-Herzegovinian refugees he can stand up for this region in the Bundestag, especially for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
But Ahmetović, who was elected to the Bundestag for the first time in 2021, is also caught between two worlds.
Between the expectations of his voters in the Hanover I constituency and the hopes of the people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, whom he doesn't want to disappoint.
Not only does he have fans in the Balkan region, he is sometimes attacked as a nationalist.
When Ahmetović was still a child, his family was to be deported.
The current SPD member of parliament and lawyer Matthias Miersch saved him legally from this.
Today, Miersch and Ahmetović are colleagues.
The Juso is one of the youngest members of the Foreign Affairs Committee, and in the SPD parliamentary group he holds the position of rapporteur for the Western Balkans - his parents' homeland.
When he accepted this political task, he was aware, says Ahmetović, that there could be stigmatization because of his origins.
Ironically, the man with the Bosnian-Herzegovinian background makes foreign policy on the Western Balkans.
But after some deliberation, he decided to take on the issue politically.
"Because the region is seething," as he says.
And because there is an emotional bond with Bosnia.
»I speak the language, I know the region and the culture very well.
Of course, that also gives me a different approach.«
According to Ahmetović, he grew up bilingually, learned German in daycare and spent a lot of time in Southeast Europe during the summer holidays.
His grandfather was abducted and killed during the Bosnian war, and his remains were only found in a mass grave in 2016.
At an appointment in a Sarajevo suburb, it's a walk with a group of anti-corruption activists, Ahmetović can hardly take a step without being constantly spoken to.
People thank him for his commitment and want photos with him.
The exclamation »svaka čast«, all respect, occurs several times in these conversations.
In Sarajevo, an elderly woman calls him »naše dijete«, our child.
His presence, his interest and also his personal history promise attention.
As a child of war refugees, Ahmetović is a figure of identification and a projection screen for hopes, according to the motto: "He's one of us after all".
However, it is questionable how a single, hitherto little-known MP can live up to such hopes.
Before the federal elections, Ahmetović announced in a Bosnian media outlet that he was a “strong German voice for Bosnia and Herzegovina”.
He's trying.
From the official side, some reactions to the commitment of the SPD man are not nearly as positive and cordial as in the comments on his Instagram and Facebook pages.
Due to his background, Ahmetović is accused of partly ethno-nationalist politics.
When he was playing a leading role in his first major Bundestag motion on Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Croatian foreign minister criticized him for his Bosnian roots.
In the Bosnian war, Bosnian Croats, among others, fought against Bosniaks, and the old resentments still exist today.
"As a social democratic politician with a Bosniak surname, I'm an enemy of nationalists," says Ahmetović, adding that this is "targeted populism."
The Bosnian Serb politician Milorad Dodik, who wants the secession of the Republic of Srpska from the state of Bosnia and Herzegovina, even compared Ahmetović to a Hitler Youth.
And it gets even worse: "Every day I get death threats from the right-wing extremist scene on social media," says Ahmetović.
"My family has also received threatening letters." That's why he's cautious and always considers the security aspect at public appointments abroad.
Nationalist tendencies do not allow Bosnia and Herzegovina to rest.
At the end of 2021, even new armed conflicts no longer seemed to be ruled out.
The war of aggression against Ukraine triggered additional fears in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Less than 30 years have passed since the end of the Bosnian war.
The pictures from Butscha and Irpin reminded many people of the Srebrenica genocide.
In July 1995, Serb units killed around 8,000 Bosnian Muslim boys and men there.
»We need a stable Western Balkans«
Due to the influence of China and Russia, the situation in the region is particularly explosive for Europe in terms of security policy.
"If we want to live peacefully in Europe, we need a stable Western Balkans," says Ahmetović.
There is enough to do, and corruption and emigration also play a major role in the entire region.
In the coalition agreement, the traffic light coalition explicitly mentioned supporting the EU accession process for the entire region.
Green Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock traveled to Sarajevo just three months after taking office, and Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht (SPD) also visited the Bosnian capital in early May.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has also been to the region and has announced a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Ahmetović sees this commitment as a "turning point in Western Balkans policy."
It is questionable how much he can contribute as an individual member of the Foreign Affairs Committee and rapporteur.
However, its popularity in the Western Balkans could benefit the German goal of strengthening the region.
Ahmetović could take on a kind of interpreter position, explaining the decisions of Baerbock, Scholz and Co., in Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as in the entire Western Balkans.
He is closer to the citizens there than the German political elite, and his language skills are a great advantage.
"German politicians often enjoy a special position in Bosnia and Herzegovina," says Ahmetović.
German politicians with Bosnian roots too, it seems.
The 29-year-old presents himself on social media as an important foreign politician, documents who he meets and shares successes, albeit with significantly fewer followers than Baerbock and Co. Confidently, his office regularly sends press statements, unusual for a young member of parliament.
Ahmetović says his political goal is re-election in his constituency.
He is convinced that the people in his constituency are proud of him;
He is pleased that they support his political activities abroad.
Because no matter how popular he may be in parts of the Bosnian population, his political career is decided above all by his constituency Hannover Stadt I. Ahmetović is dependent on the German base.
Otherwise he will end up disappointing both sides.