Erdogan triumphed by vowing to Make Turkey Great Again
On Sunday night, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appeared on the terrace of the headquarters of his ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, in Ankara to give his customary “balcony speech”. Just like in every Turkish election in the past two decades, his supporters were exuberant, while dissidents were anxious.
Sure, the presidential election was not over yet. There will be a second round on May 28. But it is likely that Erdogan, more than four points ahead of his main rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, will win. His ruling coalition already secured a parliamentary majority.
In other words, after 20 years in power, Erdogan might get five more years to rule, if not more — surpassing, by far, any other Turkish leader since the late 19th-century Ottoman Sultan Abdul Hamid II.… Seguir leyendo »