So Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan once more put the country through a bout of the bummers with the appointment of two ministers on February 11. One is indeed the prosecutor who has led the dear leader’s vicious assault on the opposition. A bit of scuffle and squabble can be excused. As things turned out, there was quite the melee on the floor of parliament, but fisticuffs are nothing new to this particular legislature, though colourful as the resultant rhubarb was, it was nothing out of the ordinary.

However, since avoiding such a big stink amounts to a criminal offence in the newsroom, all media publications across the globe rushed to roll out a report on the attractions staged by Turkey’s honourable members.

This is what parliaments do

French polymath Gustav Le Bon devoted a special section to parliaments in his book, The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind, published in 1895 and considered the bible of modern studies of homo sapiens’ actions when they move collectively.

PDFs of the book in many different languages are available on the internet should that pinch your interest.

That’s what opposition parties do

In this week’s episode from the disorderly brother of all parliaments, Turkey’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), stepped into the shoes of the lead role with no hesitation.

In any parliament, passionately taking the lead in staged theatrics is among the most important duties of the major opposition party. And everyone, on both sides, can applaud, publicly or otherwise, for such a party is vital in bestowing the political authority with essential legitimacy.

When Akin Gurlek, the Istanbul chief prosecutor elevated to justice minister, entered the general assembly hall to fulfil the formality of swearing an oath prior to taking on his post, CHP MPs stormed toward him and attempted to block the rostrum.

The battlefield casualty count turned out to be low, but painful in a few cases, with blows raining down after MPs of the governing coalition retaliated to head off the opposition MPs’ advance.

Screenshot: Gurlek has had a bit of a career.

The baiting of Basarir

Up until this point, everything had gone to script. Each MP who entered the mosh pit for the battle of the podium had done their duty, sticking to their assigned character with zest and zeal.

However, confusion set in when government media and trolls took a special look at the part played by Ali Mahir Basarir, a deputy head of the CHP’s parliamentary group. Basarir, they circulated, had, prior to the brawl, congratulated Gurlek on his appointment during an encounter in the speaker of parliament’s backstage room.

Screenshot: Basarir breathes fire on Sozcu TV.

An incensed Basarir was soon found bouncing on his heels on Sozcu TV: “We were in the deputy speaker’s office, there as group deputy chairs... At that moment, the two new ministers, Akin Gurlek and [new interior minister] Mustafa Ciftci, were shown into the room. We immediately left the room. There was no question of any congratulations taking place.”

Screenshot: Basarir tells CNN Turk that a shake of the hand was all it was.

Later, on CNN Turk, Basarir said: “When they invited us into the room where we hold our meetings, everyone was there. The ministers were there. When all the group deputy chairs shook hands, the minister stood up as well. After shaking his hand, I said, ‘It’s going to be a difficult day for you.’”

“We shook his hand, then we went to the assembly hall and gave our reaction [to his appointment]… We have not congratulated Akin Gurlek… [But] we are not enemies… We knew each other as with many government MPs before we became MPs,” he added.

An oath that’s good enough for Slovenia

Amid the confusion about who shook whose hand and why, CHP officials threw a new custard pie. Over and over, they reiterated that Gurlek did not take his oath properly. He had not, they contended, in all earnestness, formally become minister.

The CHP is a dab hand at stating and restating things. It has been stating and restating since 2002 that to Erdogan the next election is already lost with the CHP all set to take over the government in a snap poll.

Donald Trump, regrettably, is not on the same page as the CHP. In September, during a press call at the White House, Trump pointed to the visiting Erdogan and said: “He knows about rigged elections better than anybody.”

Gurlek, meanwhile, demonstrating the sanctity of the oath not long before consecrated, was quick to commence with the dutiful.

“We welcomed the speaker of the national assembly of Slovenia, Her Excellency Urska Klakocar Zupancic, and her delegation at our ministry,” Gurlek (@abakingurlek) wrote on February 12 in a tweet.

Screenshot: Gurlek posed with the Slovenian delegation after very productive evaluations regarding the mutual exchange of experiences.

“In our meeting, we discussed our cooperation in the field of justice, which constitutes an important and complementary dimension of the relations between our countries,” Gurlek added.

“We held very productive evaluations regarding the mutual exchange of experiences and the strengthening of institutional contacts.

“We appreciated Slovenia’s stance in recognising the State of Palestine.”