Shut up, loudmouth Schulz
By Aydın Engin
I suspect a threshold has been crossed.
I am referring to President of the Republic of Turkey Tayyip Erdoğan’s address to the National Agricultural Convention yesterday.
It would be possible to pen a massive and entertaining Claw Mark over questions like, “What if non-national agricultural were to be the same as whatever national agriculture means?”
But, this would now be an exercise in futility.
What matters is the address made there. President (yes, the president, the very head of state) Erdoğan got pretty mad at European Parliament President Martin Schulz for saying that, if the death penalty is reintroduced in Turkey, EU accession negotiations may be halted and, then, that if the present attitude towards universal democratic criteria and press freedom continues, “Sanctions may be imposed.”
I imagine you also heard it. For those who did not, I will quote those knockout words:
“Well, who do you think you are? Who? The president of a parliament over there. What does that make you? Will you just look at that loudmouth! He says, ‘We’ll apply sanctions.’ Well, if you place sanctions everywhere what good will they do?”
***
This is the crossing of a threshold.
Whatever next? Will shooting be allowed in the ever-present political arguments at our tradesmen’s coffee shop? What with things like:
“Hey, shut up, loudmouth Schulz.”
“Hey, quit insulting us, will you?”
“Hey, Schulz, I’ll give you such a headbutt you’ll be stuck all over the wall and they won’t be able to scrape you off, scumbag.”
“Hey, who do you think you are, lowlife! Shut it or I’ll land one on you.”
“Hey, will somebody shut that German heathen up.”
***
Martin Schulz is a politician who ranks among the greatly reduced number of Federal Germany’s true social democrats. In the forthcoming parliamentary elections he will most probably stand against Christian Democrat Angela Merkel as the Social Democratic Party (SPD)’s candidate for chancellorship. It will be no surprise if a pretty bruised Merkel loses the election and Germany finds itself once more under a Social Democratic Party government. The chancellor of that government may well be Marin Schulz.
You know, that loudmouth Martin Schulz.
***
It is as clear as day that the AKP government with Tayyip Erdoğan at the helm is taking Turkey in an entirely (not slightly, but entirely) different direction. Turkey is turning its face away from the EU and towards the Gulf. I mean the Gulf where the Emirate of Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hold sway.
It is thus beside the point to level formal criticism at the President for saying such things as, “Look at that loudmouth, will you. Who do you think you are?” to the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz, couched in such terms as, “There is a statesmanly way of doing things. There are unwritten rules of diplomacy. How on earth could you say these things?”
Turkey is turning its back on the West and its face towards the Gulf. The direction followed by the Empire since the time of Mahmut the second and by the Republic ever since 1923 is changing. And by 180 degrees.
This is the main issue on which we must dwell at length, in my view!
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