Prosperity in Turkey has increased under Erdogan, but the country faces serious unresolved dilemmas. Time for a democracy?
A peace process with the Kurdish separatists is not negotiable under Erdogan, even compromise-minded Kurdish nationalists are distrusted. War is raging on the borders, with Turkey itself fighting Kurdish militias in Syria. The country is hosting some 4 million refugees, but has at least 10 percent unemployment. The earthquake devastated an area the size of Germany and the cost of reconstruction – estimated at 5 percent of GDP – will be a millstone around the government’s neck for years to come.
In this difficult situation, Turkey must choose what it wants to be: an aggressive one-man regime, where contradiction is absent and corruption is growing, or a slightly slower democracy, where people can question national taboos.
What do you think? Is it time for a change of power in Turkey? Give your opinion below!