Turkish professor of political science: "Turkey is having its own Watergate" Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Turkish professor of political science: "Turkey is having its own Watergate" Absolute power corrupts absolutely.(TZ).

     "This is the basic scientific fact of politics: Absolute power corrupts absolutely."

“We had the Watergate scandal in the United States -- which appeared to be along these lines. There was a big effort by the Republican Party to cover it up at the time. Information about the scandal was leaked in small bits and accumulated over time. It looks somewhat like what is happening in Turkey today,” said Ersin Kalaycıoğlu, an esteemed professor of political science. He also said that the government lost much of its legitimacy and the rule of law is at risk.

“Look at the declaration made by the speaker of the Grand National Assembly, Cemil Çiçek, who is number two in power: Article 138, the article that guarantees the independence of the judiciary, is now dead. That means that there is no independent judicial review,” he said.

When the corruption investigation erupted in mid-December, the prime minister sought to discredit the inquiry by calling it a “foreign plot” and “an attempt to damage the government made by a parallel state nested within the state.”

He immediately ordered the removal of hundreds of police officers who contributed to the probe. The Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) initiated an investigation into four prosecutors involved in the corruption probe and two of the prosecutors were removed from the case. In addition, the government issued a proposal to restructure the HSYK. If adopted, the bill will give the government a tighter grip on the judiciary.

The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal as a result of a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C., and the Nixon administration's attempted cover-up of its involvement. The scandal eventually led to the resignation of the Republican Party's Richard Nixon, the president of the United States, in 1974. The scandal also resulted in the indictment, trial, conviction and incarceration of 43 people, dozens of whom were Nixon's top administration officials.

Nobody yet knows what the results of the investigation in Turkey will be. But Professor Kalaycıoğlu, who specializes in political representation and participation, tells us specifics to Turkey in the scandal, whether or not early elections can be expected, whether or not a popular election can guarantee a democratic government, how the Turkish electorate behaves, where the economy is heading and more.

Were you expecting this development in Turkish politics?

I was expecting an increase in potentially corrupt practices mainly because there was a huge accumulation of power in the executive branch of the government, especially in the Prime Minister's Office, and such an accumulation of power leads to an increase in corruption. This is the basic scientific fact of politics: Absolute power corrupts absolutely. 

Is this true for every country?

Yes, this is true for every country.Read the full interview here.

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