Romanian SocDem leader may draw his inspiration from legendary Ottoman sultan

Liviu Dragnea, the leader of Romania's governing Social Democratic Party (PSD), has often been compared by some local media to the president of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, for the way he has managed to defeat his political opponents. However, Dragnea may draw his inspiration not from Erdogan but from one of the legendary sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Some time ago, Dragnea, who is one of the most powerful and controversial politicians of the moment in Romania, allegedly stopped one of his party’s meetings to watch Magnificent Century (Muhteşem Yüzyıl), a Turkish TV series based on the life of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. Catalin Ivan, a member of the European Parliament representing the Social Democratic Party (PSD), has recalled the moment in a Facebook post in which he criticizes Liviu Dragnea. Ivan says that Dragnea knew how to take advantage of the "weaknesses" of those around him, and now he has come to control almost all state institutions. “I admit I have never looked carefully at Liviu Dragnea. I thought I had many more important things to do than to analyze him and try to understand and anticipate his plans. Our indifference, especially that of the party’s important leaders, is now costing us very much. He knew how to make himself useful, to go up within the party quietly, patiently, to exploit the weaknesses of others… and here we are now, with him controlling almost all the important state institutions,” reads Catalin Ivan’s post on Facebook. He then recalls the moment when Dragnea stopped a party meeting to watch the Turkish TV series, saying that, although it was seen as funny at that time, that moment has gained a more important symbolism following the hard moments the party has been going through recently. “We were amused when he suspended a party meeting to watch Magnificent Century. But seeing his evolution, that moment gains a new symbolism. After the Shhaideh crisis, the Plumb and Shhaideh crisis followed, then the Carmen Dan crisis, and now the Dancila catastrophe. The conclusion is that the film Magnificent Century should be banned because, when combined with lack of culture, it can create monsters,” Catalin Ivan ended his post. Update: Liviu Dragnea reacted to Catalin Ivan's statement, saying the they were "nonsense". "I don't remember ever suspending a political meeting to watch Suleiman the Magnificent. I saw a few episodes some years ago, but it's been over for many years," Dragnea said, according to Hotnews.ro. He added he watches a movie or reads a book now and then, but he doesn't get carried away. The first “Shhaideh crisis” Ivan referred to in his post is related to the moment when PSD won the Parliamentary elections in December 2016 and Liviu Dragnea wanted to appoint Sevil Shhaideh, one of his most loyal collaborator, as prime minister but the president refused to nominate her. Sorin Grindeanu was appointed PM at that time, but