By Aydogan Vatandas*
The most important message of last summer's Gezi protests in Turkey was that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government had lost its legitimacy in the eyes of some segments of Turkish society.
While some of the members of the government received this message, Erdoğan himself interpreted the protests as a coup attempt against himself. He called the protesters “looters” on the one hand, and on the other he said they were an extension of some Western powers that aim to overthrow his government.
After the biggest corruption scandal in Turkey's history struck Erdoğan and his government on Dec. 17, it became obvious that Erdoğan is blaming the Gülen movement for everything that troubles him, including the Gezi protests.
