The anatomy of a fight
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has actually prevented Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek’s disappearance.
Who threw the first stone? Who brought his son-in-law and wife, in other words his private life, into the fight? Who labeled the number-two person in the government as “parallel?” Who, without any basis or proper evidence, defined the deputy prime minister as “The crypto agent the ‘parallel’ has planted inside the government?” Who made a call to Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç to resign? Who demanded that Arınç be removed from his post? Who made Arınç a target and tried to make him an “enemy?” The answer to all these questions is Melih Gökçek.
What did Arınç do against this? He made a very harsh and very clear statement against very sharp, very rude and very unjust accusations against himself. What Arınç did was a kind of a self-defense.
While the situation was like this, Davutoğlu said, “Both sides are wrong; I have warned both sides, I will continue to warn them.” As a matter of fact, he has equalized the situation of Bülent Arınç and the situation of Melih Gökçek…
He has prevented Gökçek from becoming a doormat in the finale of the fight.
Seven differences between Arınç and Gökçek
One: Arınç is a respected person; Gökçek is a respected troll…
Two: Arınç’s tears flow with sorrow; Gökçek’s tears flow with rage…
Three: Arınç speaks clearly; Gökçek yells with capital letters…
Four: Arınç is strategic; Gökçek is tactical…
Five: Arınç hits directly at the target; Gökçek just swings, not caring where it goes…
Six: Arınç is a classic-era speaker; Gökçek is a new-age social media monster…
Seven: Arınç acts with controlled wisdom; Gökçek acts with uncontrolled intellect…
What did Gökçek hope for, and what did he find?
He hoped there would be disintegration and that the palace would harshly reply to Arınç. Hoping that everybody would take sides, he wanted to be the first to choose a side.
He had received huge applause from the palace for what he did during the Gezi incidents. He hoped for a similar pat on the shoulder when he weighed upon Arınç.
He hoped to be protected by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He hoped the grassroots of the party would support him to a huge extent because he was siding with Erdoğan.
He received a very harsh, very effective, very charisma-destroying reply that put him in a very difficult position. He provoked counter-accusations from Arınç. He could not fully get the support he expected and hoped from the “palace and the palace circles.”
He was not able to produce an equally effective, hard and strong reply to Arınç which would put him one step ahead.
Damage assessment
This fight has inflicted a major blow on the “we are cause pursuers; we do not fight domestically” perception created by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
It has shown how much of a grudge two important names in the party have built against each other.
It has damaged the campaign Gökçek had run and was going to run against the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the leftists.
It has left Gökçek questionable.
It has lightened Arınç’s specific weight because he has been warned together with Melih Gökçek.
It has created the perception among the public that “they have pretty much fallen out with each other.”
