Original photo: ErdoÄŸan, 2012

THIS afternoon we took note of an analogy involving ErdoÄŸan. It has gone viral today (if not yesterday). Battistelli, like ErdoÄŸan, is taking advantage of emergency -- real or perceived -- to seize total control/endless power and crack down on potential competition/opponents while surrounding oneself by people who even mess around with a bailiff. OpenDemocracy called the coup d'état attempt against ErdoÄŸan "Turkey's Reichstag fire" and many people haven't been missing the stunning similarities/parallels when it comes to the EPO. Earlier today someone wrote: "Just wait, the EPO President will probably condemn the Cout détat in Turkey, just wait..."

"...many people haven't been missing the stunning similarities/parallels when it comes to the EPO."Given how Battistelli, inherently a politician, takes advantage of political events to further his agenda (he last did this a few days ago [1, 2]), they rightly suspect he might spin this one too. As a side note, Fethullah Gülen, whom Erdoğan blames for the coup (in spite of him being half the globe away), alleges that this whole coup may have been staged (coordination at the top, but no knowledge of the plot among the troops down under).

"What an embarrassment to Turkish democracy and to the rule of law (or lack thereof) at the EPO."Another person wrote: "The Frenchman Battistelli expresses heartfelt sympathy to the people of France. But only in English. Presumably for reasons of administrative efficiency. Who actually writes this sanctimonious bull***t, anyway? And who cares what the European Patent Office "firmly believes"? It's just a patent office, FFS. Now eagerly anticipating Battistell's statement expressing solidarity with President Erdogan." A nice analogy in this case can be highlighted here (""Turkey’s Erdogan Expands Post-Coup Crackdown To Target Judges") and many other articles about the coup. Battistelli and ErdoÄŸan are both going after judges as if they are the root of all evil. What an embarrassment to Turkish democracy and to the rule of law (or lack thereof) at the EPO. ⬆