“They contributed to our 'yes' votes with at least two points. You can be sure of that.” The assertion by ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmaker Huseyin Kocabiyik, during a televised debate sums up the thinking that is driving the row between Turkey and the Netherlands.

On April 16, millions of Turks will go to the polls to vote on a constitutional package of reforms that will concentrate power in the hands of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Opinion polls consistently show that Turkish voters are evenly divided, with around 40% in favor of the changes, 40% against and the remaining 20% undecided.

Millions of ethnic Turks in Europe who are either permanent residents there or dual nationals — some 1.5 million eligible voters reside in Germany alone — are a lucrative pool to fish for more "yes" votes. And that is precisely what the AKP has been aiming to do, only to face stiff resistance first from Austria and Switzerland, then Germany and now the Netherlands. All have cited security concerns in their refusal to let Erdogan and his lieutenants take their polarizing campaign to the continent.

Erdogan is gleefully spinning the rebuttals as further proof that Europe is bent on blocking his super-presidency because it knows that this will further empower Turkey. The well-worn “us against the world” narrative summed up by the Turkish adage “the Turk has no other friend than the Turk” has served Erdogan well in the past and may likely pay off again, helping to rally nationalists around the “yes” vote.