Sex, lies and politics

While politicians caught with their trousers down are noted for inventiveness in deflecting blame, Deniz Baykal has elevated the practice to an art form. The 72-year-old Turkish opposition leader resigned last month after a video showing him in bed with his former secretary, now a member of parliament, was posted on the Internet. To Baykal, the culprit was obvious. “This is not a sex tape, this is a conspiracy,” the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) told reporters. Baykal pointed his podgy finger at the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), saying its leaders must have had prior knowledge of the tape. In the murky world of politics in Ankara, anything is possible. But it makes little sense for the AKP to bring down a man who has not won an election for almost two decades. Some even argue that Baykal’s divisive and dictatorial stewardship of the CHP is