Why a 'Turkish Tsipras' is an oxymoron

Everything and everyone in Turkey has come up roses after Greece?s new, maverick leader, Alexis Tsipras, won what looks like a landmark election victory. Pro-government pundits are happy because a ?reformer like Turkey?s leaders? has come to power. One newspaper claimed that Mr. Tsipras had confided to Prime Minister Ahmet Davuto?lu about how his party watched the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) with envy for 13 years. Another news story said Mr. Tsipras? victory meant the collapse of Turkey?s main opposition.

Secular and leftist Turks are also happy. ?Greece?s Che [Guevara]? is now in power. If, like in Mr. Tsipras? election slogan, ?hope came to Greece,? it too could come to Turkey. If Turkey?s inherently unsuccessful social democrats could take lessons from Mr. Tsipras? rise to power, one day the real -not diluted- Left, like in Mr. Tsipras? coalition, could rise to power in Turkey too. After all, Turks and Greeks are not just Aegean neighbors, but are almost identical nations! So, the Turkish left and social democrats should imitate how bravely Mr. Tsipras defended his ideas and challenged the imperialist West, thus rising to power.

This is, at best, an amusing narrative for a number of reasons.

Turks and Greeks may have similar lifestyles on both shores of the most beautiful sea in the world, but socio-politically, the average Turk and Greek are worlds apart. In Greece, for instance, the communist party, KKE, won 5.5 percent of the national vote in the elections on Jan. 25. In Turkey, the communist party, TKP, won 0.15 percent of the vote in parliamentary elections in 2011.

Mr. Tsipras has built his brilliant political career by fiercely sporting radical leftist/communist rhetoric. He has never hidden that he is...