AKP government's pro-Atlanticist policy orientation

Cumhuriyet columnist Mehmet Ali Güller discusses the AKP government's new economy and foreign policy orientation, which he thinks, is a re-engagement with the US military-industrial complex and the European bankers.

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Let's take a look at the 50-day summary of Erdoğan's new government.

Shortly, the new government engaged in the US strategy in the economy and foreign policy. In terms of the economy, they (re)engaged themselves with the New York bankers and London loan vultures because that connection had weakened to some extent for various reasons. Erdoğan is now strengthening it with a duo consisting of the Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Turkey, Hafize Gaye Erkan.

That means sticking more to neoliberalism. The radical increases in the prices in 50 days indicate that the neoliberal economic policy of "making the rich richer, and the poor poorer" will be implemented in the harshest way.

In fact, in our country, where we already pay taxes of taxes, the working class will be pressed under even a heavier tax bombardment.

In the philosophy of neoliberalism, "tax increase" is the name of the government's extortion from the people under the name of "spreading the tax to the bottom" in order not to collect wealth and unearned income tax from the large capital owners, further crushing the poor to turn the wheels of the system in favor of the rich.

Biden asked Erdoğan fulfilled

The course of the economy and foreign policy cannot be contradictory. That is why the re-articulation of the New York-London axis in the economy was followed by inclusion in the US/NATO plans in foreign policy. Despite all his big promises, Erdoğan listened to US President Biden at the NATO summit, fulfilled his request, and approved Sweden's NATO membership.

Thus, the Rogers-Evren cooperation* in NATO was updated with Biden-Erdoğan.

Let us remind you that Erdoğan also returned the soldiers of the Nazi Azov Battalion in Turkey to Ukraine, to which Russia reacted and accused Ankara of "violating the agreement".  

On the other hand, we should note that Erdoğan, after announcing a "new beginning" with the US, also gave signs of "normalization" with Greece and forgot about the Turkish national security doctrine, 'the Blue Homeland'.

And let us point out that the "EU door" is once more being used for all this turnaround.

Based on these, let us underline that the pro-Atlanticist media interpreted the situation as "Erdoğan has turned his course back to the West".

Who sat on Biden's lap?

Yet, during the 50-day election period, Erdogan was constantly talking about "the mastermind" and the "foreign powers", accusing the opposition of being pro-American and following an election route based on security and emerging victorious from the ballot boxes.

Indeed, after 50 days of accusing the opposition of being pawns of the London loan vultures and "sitting on Biden's lap", the ruling front has aligned the economy with the London loan vultures and joined the US plans with Biden's appreciation!

This inappropriate phrase that the ruling front introduced into political literature, "sitting Biden's lap", has evolved, and those who sit have become more clear. The neoliberal program of the Erdoğan-Şimşek-Erkan trio and the approval of Sweden's NATO membership have clarified ‘the lap debate’.

I hope that both the politicians who use the term lustfully and the voters who use it as a swear on social media will learn lessons from these consequences.

*Bernard William Rogers was a United States Army general who served as the 28th Chief of Staff of the United States Army, and later as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in the 1980s.

*Kenan Evren was a Turkish politician and military officer who served as the seventh President of Turkey from 1980 to 1989. He assumed the post by leading the 1980 military coup.