79 Ibrahim Sirkeci, Doğa Elçin, Güven Şeker (2015). Politics and Law in Turkish Migration. London: Transnational Press London. [ Courtesy of Transnational Press London | www.tplondon.com ] Chapter 6: How Berlin’s local politicians of Turkish background perceive their access to party networks and ability to succeed? Floris Vermeulen and Ayten Doğan For immigrants and their offspring, being incorporated into the local political system of a European city is in many respects an uphill battle. Newcomers and their descendants do not feature prominently among Europe’s parliamentarians or city councillors (Bloemraad, 2013; Bloemraad and Schönwälder, 2013). Political parties seem to have difficulty adapting to the new demographics in which people of immigrant background comprise a large percentage of the city population – or in some cases, like that of Amsterdam, even form the majority. The absence of immigrants from political institutions does not seem to be just an innocent reflection of their recent arrival or slow acquisition of citizenship. More likely we feel it reflects the inability of existing political institutions to adapt to a changing demographic situation. Michon and Vermeulen (2013) proposed a model for the political incorporation of immigrants that is based on three elements. First, features of the electoral and political systems determine if – and, if so, to what extent – immigrants can vote and get elected. Second, the structure of immigrant groups influences in how far members are able to seize opportunities, which, in turn, affects the extent to which immigrants get elected and become represented constituencies. Third, because parties and their elites choose whether or not to exploit the resources of a given community, it is these power wielders, who facilitate the political participation of immigrants. These factors leave politicians of immigrant background to navigate through an uncertain, often hostile environment, where at any given point their ethnicity may prove an asset – adding diversity to the political party and giving it greater appeal to fellow immigrant voters – or an unequivocal handicap in accessing the corridors of power (Bloemraad, 2013). We hope to better assess that struggle by analysing the current situation in Berlin.