A LIBERAL KISS OF LIFE TO TURKEY’S PM
Hurriyet
Nov 12 2008
Turkey
I really wonder if Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s statement,
"Anybody who doesn’t like it can leave this country," directed to
certain segments in Turkey’s southeastern region, would cost him votes.
If we are searching for an answer to the question of just how much the
"love it or leave it" statement would cost and who would be the loser
", we have a very good example.
Hurriyet did not see a fall in readership last year when an angry
Erdogan told Hurriyet daily’s columnist Bekir Coskun, "if you don’t
like it, leave the country".
On the contrary, our readership increased.
The same thing happened again and Hurriyet’s circulation rose when
he called for a boycott against the newspaper.
Starting with this example, I wonder if we would reach a similar
conclusion if we ask if Erdogan would lose votes over his recent
statements.
He may lose in the southeast, but I don’t think he would lose support
in Turkey’s remaining regions.
But there is another very important thing that he will lose.
He could lose the "liberal intellectual support" which brought him
to this point and which was also very influential during the closure
case against his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Even at this time, there are very serious indicators that this is
the result.
* * *
You are going to read an interview Hurriyet daily conducted with
Italian Prime Minister Sylvio Berlusconi in today’s edition.
I am certain that some of his remarks would irritate an important
number of Hurriyet readers.
Particularly over Berlusconi’s statement that "secularism is not
under threat in Turkey".
He says he sees Erdogan as a great reformer; what is more, he adds
that Erdogan has made important steps forward in regard to freedom
of expression.
But, the European Union said the freedom of press was under threat
and that reforms were suspended in the latest Turkey progress report
that was released last week.
Despite all this, Erdogan’s image remains high in the eyes of European
leaders.
How long will this support continue?
How long they continue to ignore the opinions and criticisms of
intellectuals?
Western society is rational and not emotional like us.
In other words, we could say it is like the sea, which warms late
and also cools late.
Erdogan’s attitude towards the press created such negative impacts
that it was included in the country’s progress report.
And now, in addition to his "love it or leave it" statement is the
remark made by Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, "Would we be a national
state if the Greeks and Armenians had not left," which could cause
a boomerang effect in Brussels.
* * *
Erdogan met with a number of intellectuals at a dinner held in a
private apartment in the Yeni Hayat (New Life) building in Istanbul
last Saturday.
I noticed intellectuals that had recently criticized Erdogan were
not among those invited to attend.
Instead, intellectuals who offer him unquestioning support, including
Can Paker, were invited.
I assessed this situation as the prime minister not wanting to listen
to any criticism from those close to him.
Why is he behaving in this manner?
Is it because he is tired and angry?
Or, is it because this ‘one man’ psychology has become a permanent
character trait?
At this point, I want to return to today’s Berlusconi interview.
Erdogan’s position of prestige in the West continues.
But as we have learned from recent history, deceased former Turkish
President Turgut Ozal, seen as the miracle star of the emerging world
by the West, and Mikhail Gorbachev, referred to as one of the greatest
reformist of the 20th century, both faced major political defeat
at home when they were accepted as world leaders, in other words,
during their most prestigious days in politics.
Therefore the prime minister is right.
A man should look to the future instead of the past.
Now, I wonder if the "kiss of life" he received in the New Life
apartment will save his life or not.