Post-election felines on social media the cat’s meow, Turkish minister says

ISTANBUL

A cat that entered a power distribution unit – and was presumably electrocuted – was the cause of controversial blackouts around the country, Yıldız said April 1. AA Photo

Energy Minister Taner Yıldız has said he enjoyed the feline-related images that went viral on social media after he announced that a cat trespassing into a electrical substation was responsible for power blackouts on Election Day.

A cat that entered a power distribution unit – and was presumably electrocuted – was the cause of controversial blackouts around the country, Yıldız said April 1 in a statement that was only coincidentally issued on April Fools’ Day. After his remarks, dozens of cat images were shared on social media mocking the minister’s remarks.

“I take no offense at this subject,” Yıldız said, adding that he told the truth in the name of transparency despite predicting the reaction to his words.

“I could not say that a cat did not enter a power station in Istanbul and that the short circuit did not happen because of a cat, because that’s the way it happened,” the minister said.

Some 8,000 people worked for 46 hours at critical points to fix the problems, Yıldız said.

The blackouts were not deliberately engineered to hamper the opposition’s chances, Yıldız said, adding that they would have happened any time there was so much snow over much of the country.

On election night, Yıldız said storms and heavy snow were the cause of the power outages in some eastern provinces.