May 3, 2016

On the night of May 1, in just a few hours, a brand-new political blog became a national hit in Turkey. Titled Pelican Brief — apparently a pun on the 1993 Hollywood thriller — the site presented a single entry, which was a long diatribe against Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Its significance lay in not just whom it attacked, but also on whose behalf it appeared: Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s all-powerful president.

The writer merely identified himself as “one of those who would sacrifice his soul for the CHIEF.” The latter word, which was used in the text 73 times and always in caps, was a reference to Erdogan. The writer was intentionally anonymous, but soon people who know Ankara well began to whisper that it was a journalist very close to Erdogan and who could have written this only with a green light from the president’s office.

The blog post began by reiterating the standard Erdoganist narrative: that there are so many conspiracies against Turkey, and the only thing that protects the nation is the wisdom and power of its president. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is an intimidating country in which every superpower is playing chess,” the author argued, only to warn, “Even if you topple one traitor here, [these superpowers] will immediately bring another one. … They will even turn our own people against us. So open your eyes and look around. And see what I see.”

Then the author went on to explain what he saw: The latest traitor — one of the cases of “our people turned against us” — was none other than Ahmet Davutoglu. For the CHIEF had blessed him almost two years ago by presenting him the seat of the Prime Ministry, but only with two simple expectations: "not to collaborate with the West" and "its Trojan horses inside," who all want to topple Erdogan, and "help facilitate the transition to the presidential system” — the system that Erdogan passionately wants.

However, the author argued, Davutoglu accomplished none of these missions. He rather gave warm signals to the West by giving an interview to the all-evil The Economist, by getting together with US bankers in New York, by trying to arrange a one-on-one meeting with US President Barack Obama and by making deals with the European Union and presenting this as his own success — despite the fact that all success lies in Erdogan. Davutoglu also “never advocated the presidential system during his electoral campaign,” and did not defend Erdogan enough in the face of the endless lies of the opposition.