Erdogan (L) and Davutoglu. The Turkish prime minister is paying back his debt to the president
Photo: AFP
A very Turkish coup
Analysis: The Erdogan-Davutoglu duo has concocted an ambitious plan to expand the president's authorities. If they succeed, only the sky will be the limit for Sultan Erdogan's power.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu
owes his president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
a huge debt. The political science professor jumped to the diplomatic service, became Erdogan's chief advisor, participated in the establishment of the Islamic party and received a series of key positions before landing in the prime minister's bureau, with Erdogan's help.
But in order to win the Turkish games of throne, he must gain a majority in the parliament and change the constitution. Davutoglu, who did not rebel and did not disregard the erosion of his authorities, has worded Erdogan's "manifesto" ahead of the elections, explaining why Erdogan must be given more power.
Now he is working to pay back the debt. The parliament elections will be held on June 7, and the Erdogan-Davutoglu duo has concocted an ambitious plan to expand the president's authorities. If they succeed, only the sky will be the limit for Sultan Erdogan's power. He is dreaming of a White House-style presidential administration, and sees Vladimir Putin's unrestrained conduct in Moscow as his model. Only then, as Davutoglu has promised on his behalf, he will be able to bring much more welfare and a significant improvement in the standard of living.
Turkish President
Alon Liel, i24
Analysis: Following a slew of mistakes that increasingly isolated Turkey, president has turned to Iran for stability.
It's not easy. The previous president, Abdullah Gül, is arguing that Turkey doesn’t need a stronger president. Gül is the best person to ask about Erdogan's underhanded political opportunism. Up to the past summer, Gül still believed in Ankara-style musical chairs: He would leave the presidential palace and replace Erdogan in the prime minister's bureau, or receive a different key position in the top ranks to the government. But as far as Erdogan is concerned, there is no room for centers of power and no positions at the top. He is the only one who will manage things and only who will hold the reins.
Erdogan sees Vladimir Putin's unrestrained conduct in Moscow as his model (Photo: AP)
The deputy prime minister, Bülent Arınç, went out to uncover the plot: We don't want a super-president at the people's expense. We know exactly what Erdogan is up to and who will be the victims of his unrestrained ambition.
Remember the 1,000-room palace and the ridiculously flamboyant presidential guard? Erdogan is looking at the Middle Eastern map with deep content. He sees weak rulers, shaky regimes and collapsing economies and aims to announce the "Great Turkey," establish "the empire," become a sultan without limits.
In the road that he has paved for himself, the end justifies all means: Meddling in the legal system, censoring lists of parliament candidates, throwing journalists to hell and putting dozens of them in prison. Turkey is no longer a police state, the deputy prime minister sneers. Hundreds of policemen and their senior commanders are in jail themselves.
Events marking the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide will be held over the weekend. Not in Turkey. Erdogan rushed to respond to the pope's statement, saying that "it went in one ear and out the other." As long as Turkey belongs to the prestigious NATO club, he will not apologize for the murder of the Armenians and will pull the declarations of genocide out of his other year. He will also continue to mock the Arab world's rulers, wriggle vis-à-vis the Kurds, oppress protests and silence the media which are not playing by his rules.
We are and aren't on the map. Does anyone remember Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's apology over the Mavi Marmara affair and Davutoglu's promises that the relations would be restored in no time? "Kalam fadi" (empty talk), as they say in our neighborhood about promises written in the sand. The politicians in Jerusalem have given up.
