Turkish deputy challenges Chancellor Merkel with ice bucket

A Turkish deputy who recently hit the headlines with her shoe-equipped protest in Turkey's male-dominated Parliament has joined the global trend of the “ice bucket challenge” by sending German Chancellor Angela Merkel a tongue-in-cheek message.

Aylin Nazlıaka, a deputy from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), poured a bucket of water over her head in the garden of the Parliament before sharing the video on Aug. 23 on her social media accounts.

"I challenge Angela Merkel from the Grand National Assembly of Turkey for all ALS patients. She doesn't speak Turkish, but her intelligence is strong," Nazlıaka said, referring to a recent Der Spiegel report that claimed the German intelligence targeted Turkey.

Earlier this month, Nazlıaka had triggered a viral campaign after she threatened to hurl her shoe at her male colleagues who infuriated her with verbal attacks during a speech at the Parliament on Aug. 12.

Turkey has caught up with the latest viral campaign with politicians and business supremos joining the fun with the aim of raising awareness of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). 

“Maybe 100,000 people participated in the campaign, but the total number of donations is not over 100,” Turkey’s ALS Foundation head Ä°smail Gökçek said Aug. 22.