The Economist (June 8)
The riots in Turkey have less to do with religion and more to do with concerns over unchecked power. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has racked up numerous successes in governing Turkey, but his power has grown to uncomfortable proportions. “The real lesson of these events is about authoritarianism: Turkey will not put up with a middle-class democrat behaving like an Ottoman sultan.”
Financial Times (June 7)
In Turkey, elections are slated for Sunday. It’s a foregone conclusion that Reçep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development party (AKP) will win. The AKP has controlled the country since 2002 and Prime Minister Erdogan is extremely popular. A close election would be the better than a landslide. “The big decisions that Turkey’s next parliament will take will carry greater weight if they are shaped by the opposition as well as the AKP.” These decisions include whether to switch from a parliamentary system to a presidential system.
Tags: Election, Erdogan, Opposition, Parliament, President, Turkey
