The unlicensed palace’s contribution to Erdoğan’s image

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s “Unlicensed Palace” has become the focus of the Western media. It is very natural that this is so, because obviously they cannot fully comprehend the situation.

They cannot, because first, they do not understand that when there was a mansion present where presidents worked traditionally, why a new one was needed. Next, they cannot comprehend how the building could be built without a building license in a forest.

Thirdly, the image that Erdoğan has personally had himself photographed and serviced to the media, does not remind them of a democratic country leader, but of Putin. International New York Times especially emphasized that the other day.

Fourth, they cannot grasp this size. They especially highlight the fact that this unlicensed, unregistered palace is bigger than Buckingham Palace where the queen of England lives and works; bigger than the Elysee Palace where the French president resides and works; and bigger than the White House in which the U.S. president lives and works.

Of course, the cost of the unlicensed palace is another incredible factor. According to the most optimistic calculations, the unlicensed palace has cost $350 million and this is not an amount that one can spend extravagantly in a democratic country.

When all of these are added together, naturally, what emerges is not a picture of a “democratic leader.”

In democracies, one gives account

The best example of in what kind of a country and under what kind of an administration we are living has been Erdoğan’s Unlicensed Palace.

We, the tax payers, do not know exactly how much the illegal palace has cost.

The building was erected with our taxes; it has 1000 rooms;...