Posted on 04/02/2019 4:43:13 PM PDT by Texas Fossil
The editor of the Washington Post said that Erdogan who failed in the local elections has now refused to make concessions on Russian missiles or Syrian Kurds. Trump's administration will have no choice but to treat him as a rival. The editor wonders how Erdogan will react to the people's rebuke to him,
The editor of the Washington Post talks about the results of local elections in Turkey, which he sees as a referendum on Erdogan's increasing authoritarian leadership.
The editor notes that Erdogan used all his cheap tools that would have led the country to explosion in an attempt to rally his base with allegations that Turkey's existence as a state was at stake. He even ran videos of the recent massacre committed against the Muslim prayers in New Zealand, and fortunately, the result was a decisive rejection by the voters in Turkey. According to the outcomes revealed on Monday, Erdogan's party has lost the post of mayor of the two most important cities in Turkey, Ankara and Istanbul, for the first time since a quarter century.
The editor of the newspaper notes that although Erdogan has a majority in the Turkish parliament, but the defeat of his hand-picked candidates in the major cities driven by a huge turnout of voters sent an unequivocal message that the Turks are tired of his authoritarian style.
The editor wonders: "What is the reaction of Erdogan who has experienced a bitter defeat which became increasingly fanatical in 15 years of power?"
The editor says: "Not only the internal politics are at stake, but Trump's administration quietly awaits the end of the elections' season in the hope that Erdogan will be more open to conflict resolution, the most important is Turkey's imminent acquisition of an advanced missile system from Russia, as it could be subjected to tough sanctions, including the cancellation of a deal to buy US F-35 warplanes. There is also an unresolved dispute over Syria, where Erdogan threatens to attack the Kurdish forces allied to Washington."
After being defeated in the parliamentary elections in 2015, Erdogan launched a military campaign against the Kurds in southeastern Turkey. If he now refuses to make concessions on Russian missiles or Syrian Kurds, the Trump's administration will have no choice but to treat him as an opponent, and this may increase the damage to the Turkish economy which began to decline after the President Trump imposed tariffs and other sanctions last year in response to Turkey's imprisonment of a US priest.
"As in domestic affairs, it is in Erdogan's interest to respond pragmatically, and the Trump's administration must provide him with incentives to do so," the editor said.
(T/S)
ANHA
So, who flinches? My bet is that it won't be DJT.
Turkey is in serious financial trouble and Erdogan has alarmed a large part of the Turks. But he may have a simple majority of support overall. I doubt it, but have read that he might.
Where does it go? Guess we wait and see.
A quote I remember from Erdogan goes, “Democracy is like a bus you ride to the stop you want; then you get off.”
Well, I suppose Sultan Erdogan could launch a few pogroms against the Greeks, Kurds, Armenians and Jews unfortunate enough to still be living in Turkey, and desecrate a few more churches and synagogues after he’s done with the Hagia Sophia...
Yeah, that should get him some more support. (rolls eyes)
Easy, call a special council to investigate obvious “collusion” between those obviously stupid citizens and the U.S.
He responds like any dictator by spreading state wealth to a select few and killing/imprisoning whoever steps out of line. I’m sure he marvels at our state media only wishing he could lie with such impunity.
I don’t need no stinking Voters
Easy, like the American left sue, chest, murder, harvest ballots,
chop off some heads and clitorises.
Oh wait he does the last stuff anyway
Cheat I meant
I wonder if the collapse of ISIS had anything to do with his election losses.
Perhaps without ISIS at their door, they feel they don’t need a strongman to lead them?
Or, perhaps the voters see the writing on the wall and decided that Erdogan leading an imminent Caliphate was not in the cards, for now.
I saw a speech by the editor of the main opposition media company, Zaman, after it was raided and taken over by Erdogan’s thugs 3 years ago. He was lucky to get himself and his family out alive. Turkey has no business in NATO, it is an autocracy. I predict these election results are ignored.
https://www.itv.com/news/story/2016-03-05/turkish-newspaper-seized-by-government/
Blame Marcia!
He’ll act like most nutcase tyrants do, he’ll pile on.
Great line from the tyrant Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, in 1 Kings:
“My father beat you with whips but I will whip you with scorpions!”
I’d guess that although this puts more pressure on Erdogan, it is far from enough to really turn him around.
Regime change in Venezuela would probably rattle his cage quite a bit. He probably has a lot to hide personally, in his dealings with them.
“My father beat you with whips but I will whip you with scorpions!”
FYI the "scorpion" was a whip with flayed endings embedded with sharp objects.
No, I did not know. Ouch.
Yes he made that quote in public and has repeated it a number of times.
He is an evil man.
God is not mocked. He is slipping in public approval. He is an evil man.
We will see what becomes of him.
Erdogan is the Dictator of Turkey with his “emergency powers”. He rules by edict, does not even consider the elected ruling bodies or the courts. All it takes is the word from him.
He thinks he answers to nobody, but he is wrong.
His state media is worse. There are no journalists left. They are all in prison, exiled or dead. All that is left are the Propagandists.
CNN Turkey is among the worst propaganda agents in Turkey.
Yes, he does.
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