Early elections- unless there is freedom from palace tutelage

This is what Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said about a coalition: “We will start negotiations; there will be no delays.” He then added, “We will not hesitate to opt for elections if a coalition is not formed.” 

What an empty and meaningless sentence.

If a government is not able to be formed, then, according to the constitution, there will be early elections anyway, regardless of you hesitating or not. 

It looks as if the heat wave coming from the Beştepe Presidential Palace has affected Davutoğlu; he also inclined toward an early election. 

Or, maybe, he actually wants to form a coalition but, I think, by saying such words he might be able to ease the tension at Beştepe. 

Journalist Abdülkadir Selvi has already written, “The red line of Davutoğlu is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.” I do not know whether this is a “wish” coming from Beştepe or is it that Davutoğlu is trying to calm down the resident of the palace by talking like this. Nevertheless, declaring red lines before starting to negotiate a matter must be the “Turkish style of bargaining.” 

All political parties now have more than one red line. How can common ground be found in a negotiation process which has so many red lines? 

While Erdoğan prolonged giving the mandate to form a government, he was counting on this. He was calculating, “Let them talk and fish for applauses with their comments, so that it will not be possible for them to agree.”

There is only one thing to spoil that and it is Ahmet Davutoğlu conducting a determined negotiation process to form a government. If he acts determinedly, we can say that, even though it may be tough, he will succeed in the end. 

Both Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu looks as if he is more prepared and even Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has said, “You form the government; I will support those things in favor of the country,” giving options to overcome the difficulties he may face as the prime minister of a coalition government. 

The problem is whether or not Davutoğlu will be able to override the guardianship of Erdoğan. 

Do you know where we are going? 

The right-wing “idealists,” who stage protests claiming that China does not allow the Muslims in Xingjian Uyghur Autonomous Region to conduct their religious fasting and prayer rituals, are demanding “blood.”

A poster was hung in Istanbul’s Ataşehir district, saying, “We yearn for the smell of Chinese blood.”

As a part of this, a restaurant was attacked whose cook was actually an Uighur Turk and Korean tourists were harassed after being mistaken for Chinese tourists. 

Recently, the head of the eastern province Kars’ “Ülkü Ocakları” (Idealist Hearths) reacted to famous jazz pianist Hamasyan’s concert held in the Ani ruins, by saying, “Our patience is being tested by traitorous brains. Or should we hunt for Armenians in the streets of Kars?”

It was only yesterday when a group called Young Islamist Defense was calling for the massacre of gay people. 

The natural consequences of these (one of which is that we will not see any Far Eastern tourists in our country soon) will indeed occur but most important of all is that certain people in our country are constantly looking for “blood.”

The racist and discriminatory hatred has found a strong platform for itself in this country and it is spreading fast. Unfortunately, no wise leader is seen in sight who notices where we are going.