There are no jokes. Struggling to find a single example for an untendentious joke, Sigmund Freud famously gave up and instead invited us to see the truth spoken in each and every jest. Whether one agrees with the Viennese master’s general theories or not, politics proves him right on jokes: One might find an abundance of things to laugh about in the political realm, but nothing ever is just a jest.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent decision to make Yigit Bulut, the 41-year-old managing director of the pro-government channel 24 TV, his chief adviser is no joke either. Notwithstanding the anger, disbelief and ridicule of those who see in Bulut’s appointment the perfect example of unabashed toadyism being rewarded at a time when critical voices in the Turkish media are silenced (fellow Al-Monitor contributor Yavuz Baydar lost his job this week at the pro-government Sabah after criticizing his paper’s flimsy coverage of the recent mass protests in Istanbul), Erdogan’s choice reflects a keen political calculation rather than the lack thereof.

A man with a catchy name — Yigit means “gallant” and Bulut is “cloud” — that brings to mind the symbol-laden use of Native American nomenclature in popular westerns, Erdogan’s new chief adviser comes from a secular background of wealth and influence that sets him apart from the typical Justice and Development Party (AKP) rank and file. Reportedly fluent in French and English, he was educated at Istanbul’s prestigious Lycée de Galatasaray, received a degree in banking and finance from the Bilkent University and did his graduate studies at the Sorbonne. His family hails from Edirne — Turkey’s Thracian gate-city where voters are characteristically wary of the AKP, which managed to gain only 30.4% of the popular vote in 2011, coming a distant second to the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Bulut has not only the typical Balkan features of the region with fair skin, blue eyes and broad bones but also a surname that represents the traditional politics of his hometown, which is known for its staunch support of the legacy of the Democrat Party — Turkey’s first popular opposition party, ousted from power by the country’s first coup d’état. Bulut’s late father and uncle were elected to the parliament from various secular right-wing parties which have all but disappeared from the political scene today.