Why did the prime minister visit the general?

AHMET HAKAN

He visited him.

BECAUSE: He wanted to respond to the rise in conscience originating in the public. He wanted to be a subtle ointment for the wound of conscience. He wanted to avoid being the target of the reproaches of “This cannot happen. It is too much.”

He visited him.

BECAUSE: The process of the showdown over “military tutelage” has been completed to a great extent. He did not want to act as if the process was not finished even though it has been finalized. He has noticed that there was no point in adopting the position of the prosecutors in cases such as Ergenekon and Balyoz (Sledgehammer).

He visited him.

BECAUSE: With Gen. Necdet Özel’s taking over the chief of General Staff position, the Turkish Armed Forces have stopped being a “threat” for the conservatives. The command echelon that might have constituted a “threat” has been eliminated. The Turkish Armed Forces have been harmonized with the new status quo.

He visited him.

BECAUSE: In the new order the prime minister has formed, the equation “strong state/strong army” had major significance. The importance of the military is huge regarding high population/a very strong country. The picture of “persecuted generals” has started to disrupt this equation hideously.

He visited him.

BECAUSE: Contrary to what certain liberal and democratic circles assume, the prime minister, in the final analysis, is not an “anti-militarist” politician. The prime minister has crushed the “military tutelage” he regarded as “threat” for them. During the cleanup process he conducted together with liberals and democrats, a negative environment was formed against the military. He needs to repair this environment.

Dilek Hanif as a pro-government actor

Designer Dilek Hanif has struck a too-good-to-be-true deal with Turkish Airlines (THY). She is trying to please them, trying hard to give them more than they want.

She has finalized a “perfect” deal with THY. She is trying to be appreciated. She wants approval; she wants to ingratiate herself.

In short, her designer concerns are gone, in place of them, approval concerns have come.

When the situation is like this, it is of no consequence to her that the skirt is like a pipe; that a woman wearing that skirt transforms into a stove pipe.

She minds her own business. She minds the profit. She minds the income.

Since she is out there to be appreciated, designer Dilek Hanif does not stop at a conservative style, a conservative elegance.

What does she do instead? She overdoes it extremely and ends up being ridiculous and tasteless.
Well, is she able to receive the appreciation she was seeking?

No!

Even the conservatives find this overdoing odd. Here it is: Even the conservative daily Yeni Şafak ridicules Dilek Hanif’s new THY stewardess/steward uniforms with the title, “Are they the cabin crew or a fasıl (Ottoman classic music) ensemble?”

Shall I tell you this? Those who cause the governments to become “absolute authorities” are, to a certain extent, those similar to Dilek Hanif, who shine with their “more royalist than the king” attitudes in their pro-government ventures.

Is this a joke?

HAVE YOU HEARD IT?

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has struck a deal with a French public relations company that has caused various parties win elections in France. Company experts have been advising the CHP on how to win the elections.

The French experts have been saying the following:

Touch the people. Organize rallies. Send letters to the voters. Secure the left electorate first. Then open up to the right. Go door to door. Be present and active at the polls.

All of them are more “universal consent,” more cliché than the other.

Here is the thing: The most complicated, the most knotty political party in a complicated, knotty country such as Turkey seeks advice from French experts who are not able to talk about Turkey for two minutes on how to win elections in Turkey?

Could somebody please tell me this a huge joke?

Ahmet Hakan is a columnist for daily Hürriyet in which this piece was published on Feb 11. It was translated into English by the Daily News staff.

AHMET HAKAN - ahakan@hurriyet.com.tr