Is this Davutoğlu’s true style?

I am uncomfortable with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s style. I will discuss with you whether this style is genuine or false.

I know that people’s character and style do not change. I know that they can only evolve, over many years, in a general direction. I have rarely seen the opposite, it is extremely rare for people's character to fundamentally change.

It has also been noted that politicians' private style and their public image behind the microphone or on the screen are different from each other. One wonders which style is the genuine one. Here, I am questioning the difference between the public and the non-public speeches given by Davutoğlu, especially during the period after Aug. 28.

I have met Mr. Davutoğlu two or three times. One was on a flight to Ankara about eight years ago. I did not detect a particularly challenging personality in his attitude and words. He did not exaggerate his observations; his evaluations were not extreme. My impression was that he was a modest, unassertive person without any hubris.

Then I listened to him in a closed session when he was lecturing about Turkish foreign policy. He spoke at length while seldom looking at his notes. He answered questions. His words were assertive, but his style wasn't. He had definite arguments regarding foreign policy and he did not hide this. I thought he looked like a civilized, Western politician.

From that day on, I have seen him in the media as a hardworking, assertive politician with a strong memory, who is respectful of others. He did not have any trace of the style that he has adopted since he became prime minister. I cannot say which one is genuine and which is false. Some people may even claim they are not too different from each...