“They said a century ago that we were the ‘sick man.’ Now they are the ‘sick man.’ Europe is collapsing,” the Turkish leader said, using an insult popular among European politicians in the 19th century when they talked about the collapsing Ottoman Empire.
Speaking at a rally in Turkey’s Izmir on Sunday, the president said that Europe’s economy was getting worse, its population was getting older, and the “racism disease has resurged like a virus,” Turkish Anadolu news agency reported. In Europe, which suffered two world wars in the past, millions of people are being attacked and discriminated against, he told the rally.
Erdogan claimed that Turks living in Europe were being “very oppressed” and “very humiliated,” and vowed to make Europe “accountable” for that.
“Europe will pay for what they have done. God willing, the question of the European Union will again be on the table after April 16,” he said, referring to the constitutional referendum in Turkey, which might sharply increase his ruling powers.
“You have seen what happened in Europe. Why did they go crazy? Why did they go berserk? They saw what this system will bring to Turkey. Turkey is leaping, growing. This makes them go crazy,” Erdogan explained his view on the tensions with the EU.
The Turkish leader reiterated his plans to hold a separate referendum on whether Ankara should carry on with a process to join the European Union, saying he now expects “a serious explosion in the rate of votes” to quit the EU accession bid. “I do not worry about it,” he said.
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