Turkey raises the stakes but can it win?

Speculation has it that Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte needs to stem the flow of votes to far-right leader Geert Wilders in the upcoming elections, and this is why he is presently behaving the way he is with Turkey. 

Former Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot, a Christian Democrat who in the past also served as ambassador to Ankara, is of this opinion, too. He was quoted as telling the RTL Nieuws channel that the decision to declare Turkish Family Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya "persona non grata" and to deport her unceremoniously from the Netherlands was "very unwise." 

"We always point to our democracy and human rights, but with this we are on the wrong track," Bot, who has not always been easy on Turkey, reportedly said. 

What is clear is that hard diplomacy will be required before normality returns to Turkey's ties with the Netherlands, Germany and other European countries. 

However, it is also evident that Ankara has abandoned the language of diplomacy when it comes to Europe. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) knows that hitting at Europe with characterizations such as "Nazi" or "fascist" goes down well with Turkish Islamists and nationalists.

Similarly blasting Turkey goes down well with Europe's Islamophobic and xenophobic classes. This is why such a deplorable figure as Wilders is wringing his hands with glee over recent events. Looking at the Netherlands, and other countries across Europe, it seems that letting domestic politics spill over into the foreign policy domain is not just a Turkish weakness.

Yet it is the "big picture" that is disconcerting. What this tells us is that Turkey is drifting rapidly away from the West. There is no way that a country run by one man and his party, with little...