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Did the West write Erdogan off for Israel’s sake?

The Western media’s anti-Erdogan stance is fueled by Erdogan’s own partisan and ideological rhetoric.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) address the media at the Presidential Palace in Ankara January 12, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4L5C4
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) address the media at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Jan. 12, 2015. — REUTERS/Umit Bektas

In remarks to journalists last week, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu acknowledged that Turkey’s image in the Western media had turned negative, but argued this was all a plot. “There is an international media network in the world. We are doing our best, but this network has made a decision to finish off Turkey’s success story and demonize President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan. That’s their objective. They have moved against Turkey as if a button was pressed after 2010, that is, after the 'one-minute' incident in Davos.”

In other words, Davutoglu basically suggested that pro-Israeli domains, infuriated with “New Turkey” for its brave defense of the downtrodden Palestinian people, were behind Western criticism of Erdogan.

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