They say there is nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal. Perhaps. But there is something far worse for society – a wounded politician. When power begins to slip through their grasp, they ALWAYS turn to seek an external enemy. This is exactly what the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is doing. There are many within Turkey who fear he is trying to be a dictator. He has sought to gain total power and that has many people deeply concerned.
Erdoğan is at risk of being overthrown and he knows it. The worse the economy becomes, the greater the probability he will be driven from power. Consequently, the fear factor is rising with tensions mounting in the Aegean and eastern Mediterranean Seas. Erdoğan knows the historical animosity between Greece and Turkey. He is deliberately attempting to reignite those deep resentments by raising the prospect of a referendum on accession talks with the EU. The Greek defense minister came out and said that Greece was ready for any provocation.
Clearly, the relations between Turkey and European capitals have worsened before the April 16th vote on expanding the powers of the president. Erdoğan is attempting to create an external threat to Turkey in order to ensure he gains total new powers. Erdoğan is using the recent ban on visiting Turkish officials to rally a “yes” vote for more power. He has now even raised the spectre of a public vote on EU membership at the weekend.
Erdoğan is clearly a tyrant and he is seeking authoritarian rule that is incompatible with any pretended democracy or republic. Why does he see such power? Obviously, he fears being overthrown. The greatest danger is that as his support continues to decline within Turkey, his need to start a war and the animosity with Greece, goes back a very long time.
