While even Bild talks about an open threat of war from Turkey, some insist that what Erdoğan uttered against Greece is for… “internal consumption”.
As Turkey develops its highly aggressive communication policy day by day, it becomes more obvious that the narrative about Erdogan who “barks but doesn’t bite” is now groundless and even dangerous for the need for vigilance that must exist in our country.
In the policy of appeasement that moved the threads of Greek foreign policy in the last decades, the argument that what “crazy” Erdogan says is for internal consumption was also constantly present.
Yes, the Turk “sells” nationalism also for internal consumption reasons, but for months now the threats have passed into a completely new sphere of aggressive diplomacy. It is obvious that in the last two months, Turkey has been “building” the scene of a pre-announced tension, adding more and more new claims that increasingly exceed the previous ones.
For years now, the Greek side has been mocking the positions of the semi-insane nationalist Devlet Bakhtseli, who often made a sensation in the news bulletins with his cartoons. But it is characteristic that now Erdogan’s rhetoric is no different from the delusions of his government partner, Bakhceli.
Even worse, Erdogan’s long-standing differences with the Kemals seem to have been completely overcome, and we are seeing a common front being created for all of Turkey’s nationalist tendencies against Greece. This political consensus that exists in Turkey’s foreign affairs, with the help of the fully manipulated Turkish media, is preparing the Turkish people to enter into a war conflict with Greece.
“We have only one proposal for Greece. Don’t forget Smyrna! Don’t forget Smyrna! It’s none of our business if you invade the islands, etc. When the time comes, the time comes, we’ll do whatever it takes. You know, we say, “We can come suddenly one night,”” said the Turkish president, referring to a 1974 song lyric that refers to the Turkish invasion of Cyprus.
We now start and leave the paranoid claim of the demilitarization of the Greek islands, and go to the even more incendiary rhetoric of the “invading” Greeks, who “illegally” own the islands. The “opening” of the Turkish president is now so great, that it is almost impossible for him to present himself to his voters empty-handed, and without having carried out some of his threats. Undoubtedly, to do so would mean his ultimate political ruin.
Despite the blissful “sleep” of the Germans on the Greek-Turkish issue, we should not consider it at all negligible that after Erdogan’s latest statements, the German Bild published an article entitled “Erdogan threatens Greece with war”, while Tagesspiegel writes: “The Erdogan’s threat to Greece goes beyond his basic election campaign”.
Here is a resounding answer to those who continue to claim in Greece that what Erdogan is saying is only pre-election “cheese” for his voters. It is time to abandon this inane argument, and interpret the situation as it really is. The Germans see the “big picture” in Turkey’s statements. Why do some circles of influence in Greece still pretend they don’t see it?
In recent months, we have seen an obsession of Turkish officials with the “mantra” that Greece must learn lessons from history, so as not to “suffer the same”. Of course, this is not accidental either, since Turkey has never disconnected the criminal record it calls its “history” with its future aspirations. She refers more and more to the story, because she intends to soon recycle her crimes.
Heading towards a very difficult winter and with the energy crisis directly threatening the economies and the cohesion of societies in Europe, it is more than certain that the political instability in the EU will lead it close to the limits of its dissolution, if not beyond them.
European countries are sinking more and more into introversion in order to manage the gigantic problems facing them. As the euro collapses and inflation soars, the “Union” turns into a disjointed set of states struggling, each with its own strengths, not to be engulfed in the vortex of the crisis. This opens up a much easier field of action for the pursuits of Turkish revisionism.
And at the national level, Greece has at its helm a short-lived government rocked by the surveillance scandal and the encroachment of precision. We are faced with the danger of entering a period of widespread political crisis, perhaps even prolonged anarchy, since even the universal government scenario presents several impasses that need political time to resolve.
Therefore, we have before us developments inside and outside the walls, which, if nothing else, further open the appetite of Turkey, which seems ready to strike at the right moment, taking advantage of the momentum of political instability. After all, in its recent history, Turkey has proven that it likes to attack (so far with mercenary forces) only in broken or politically unstable countries.
The developments show that the communicative downgrading of Erdoğan’s statements must stop immediately, which, combined with the passivity shown by the Greek side in the diplomatic field, keeps the country in a state of “hypnosis”. Calmness to have, composure to have, self-confidence to have, prosperous morale to have. But let’s not blind ourselves and – after all – not expect Bild to show us the right dimension of the issue…
