The "royalty" of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the former independent MP Mehmet Ali Çelebi appeared, who officially joined the parliamentary group of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
Before yesterday's speech by the Turkish president to the members of the Parliamentary Group, the official ceremony of Çelebi joining the AKP took place, with Erdoğan "pinning" the party emblem on his lapel.
“Türkiye Yüzyılı” mücadelesinde yanınızdayım! pic.twitter.com/nwgVquyr9P
— Mehmet Ali Çelebi (@celebimehmeta) October 19, 2022
Taking the floor afterwards, Çelebi defended the narrative of the "Blue Homeland", saying that "the fight should continue on all fronts", including with Greece.
"From the 'Blue Homeland' to Libya, from Syria to Iraq and from Azerbaijan to Greece, on all these fronts, our struggle must continue without failure," he said, with Erdoğan by his side.
The 38-year-old MP, a former military man and civil aircraft pilot, has a contradictory political career in Turkey.
He was initially elected as an MP in 2018 with the opposition Republican Party (CHP) of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. In 2021, he left the CHP and joined the National Party, and then became an independent as an MP for Smyrna (Σμύρνα, Turkish: İzmir), last February.
In 2008 Çelebi was accused of involvement in the Ergenekon affair, resulting in him serving a 41-month prison sentence. He was acquitted of the charges in 2014.
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