ANKARA: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan lost his temper during a ceremony yesterday, heckling a speaker who accused him of authoritarian tendencies before walking out of the room in fury.
The official ceremony, which was aired live on Turkish television, saw a visibly enraged Erdogan interrupt the head of the bar association Metin Feyzioglu, whose lengthy speech took several jabs at the government’s performance.
“You are insolent. You are disrespectful. This is a completely political speech, packed with lies,” said Erdogan, who rose from his chair in anger despite attempts by President Abdullah Gul to soothe him.
Erdogan also expressed frustration that Feyzioglu, who has also been an outspoken critic of the criminal prosecution of the government’s foes, had broken with protocol by speaking for an hour at the ceremony marking the anniversary of the founding of the Council of State, Turkey’s top administrative court.
Feyzioglu, a young law professor and staunch critic of the ruling Islamist party, kept his cool during Erdogan’s outburst and finished a speech that was met with applause by much of the attendance.
A fuming Erdogan eventually walked out of the Ankara hall.
Erdogan has been prime minister since 2003 and is expected later this year to run for the presidency, a largely ceremonial post.
The Council of State released a statement saying Feyzioglu spoke four times longer than his allotted time, and: “By giving so much space to matters that have nothing to do with administrative justice nor the legal profession, guests, who had no opportunity to respond, were made uncomfortable.”
At a meeting of the AK Party later on Saturday, Erdogan said the party would present a candidate by the middle of June or before, later than he had initially said.
Burhan Kuzu, the head of parliament’s constitutional committee, was quoted by HaberTurk newspaper’s website as saying the law does not require Erdogan to resign from his current position to run for president.
Though largely ceremonial, the presidency is still the nation’s most prestigious post and was held by modern Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
“If you love politics so much, then take off your (judicial) robe, enter the political arena and prove yourself,” Erdogan said of Feyzioglu at an AK Party meeting in comments aired live by CNN Turk.
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