Monday, 31 March 2014

Time to re-engage Erdogan

Erdogan´s party has added another electoral victory to its prize list. A large number of the voters have gone for stability and economic growth, the two flags associated with the Prime Minister’s leadership. One has to respect the Turkish people´s choice.

But Erdogan has also to realise that those who have voted against him, and they are more than half of the population, also call for respect. They are no traitors. They just happen to be young, better educated, urban based, and people that value the right to have a different opinion about the governance of Turkey. They also aspire for a government that is ready to effectively fight corruption and power abuse.

The fear is that Erdogan will read into the results a license to be harder on the opponents.

That´s why the leaders of the EU have to re-open the political dialogue with him. That´s the way to a more tolerant leadership in Turkey. 

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