There is a tragicomic but very common picture we see in Turkish politics: Mehmet Sevigen's attempt to take a single frame from his son's wedding and label Mr. Kemal as an “AKP member”. Trying to generate politics through a photograph... It is really shameful.
Last year, when the same people stood shoulder to shoulder as wedding witnesses at Rıza Akpolat's wedding, they were silent. Those shots were considered “normal”, “public courtesy” and “friendly ritual”. Today, when the same gesture is made by someone else, it is suddenly declared an “alliance” and a “party shift”. Permissible for yourself, sinful for others... This is the most obvious double standard in politics.
Let us also remember the sociological reality: At weddings, it is the hosts who determine the guest list, who will stand side by side with whom, who will appear in which frame. Not politicians. But for some, the issue is not the truth; the issue is to produce visual evidence and use it as a political weapon.
Producing crimes through photography is a clear indication of discursive laziness and intellectual poverty. Filling the void with imaginary evidence instead of generating debate... The decontextualized photograph is no longer data, it is illusion. And unfortunately, they take themselves seriously with this illusion.
The cruelest truth of Turkish politics is revealed here: The fallen walk hand in hand with the fallen. Inconsistency brings its owners closer together. This is not a stance; it is a defense reflex, a kind of coalition of mutual legitimization.
The seriousness of politics is not measured by which wedding you attend. What matters is what principles you stand for, what values you insist on and what you produce for the public good. Creating scenarios from photographs is not the work of politics, but of tabloids.
Mr. Kemal's political line will not change with a wedding photo. But the political backbone of some actors can be bent even because of a single frame. The loudest voices of inconsistency are the least serious ones.