The Turkish constitutional referendum has been resolved in Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's favour. Whether honestly, or, as is more likely, through some suspicious electoral practices, it doesn't really matter. Erdogan will cling to power.
It's time to look at the history of Finnish comments, which show how the local politicians, eager to please the policies in Brussels, have kept talking in favour of Turkey admitted to the union. We'd be in quite a trouble if they had had their way.
The articles are mostly in Finnish, headlined like this:
1997: MTV: Turkey's EU membership is being debated
1999: Verkkouutiset: EU countries support TUrkey's membership
2004: Greens: Membership talks with Turkey must be started soon
2005: Rehn would like to start Turkey's membership talks as planned
2006: Lipponen drivers Turkey's EU membership
2007: Olli Rehn: Turkey membership 'vital' for EU
2008: Foreign minister Alexander Stubb: EU must expand with consistent policies
2009: Matti Vanhanen supports Turkey's EU membership
2011: Erkki Tuomioja: Iceland and Turkey joining EU would strengthen the union
2012: President Halonen promises Finland supports Turkey's EU membership
2013: Journalist union: EU membership would improve Turkish freedom of press
2014: Europe-Youth: Turkey is willing to adapt to similar rules with other EU countries
2015: EK: EU-Turkey economic ties develop further
Finnish politicians apparently kept banging their head to the wall, because it would pelase Brussels. Then comes David Cameron, who is starting to fathom that his electorate really, really does not like to be in the same union with Turkey, or even in the same union with Jean-Claude Juncker who wants to be in the same union with Turkey:
2016: Turkey unlikely to join EU 'until the year 3000', says Cameron
Well, that tale is now over, in many ways.
I just hope, for the sake of the people in Turkey, that they can climb out of this hole without major violence and loss of freedom.
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