Is the “democratization package” that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Monday, Sept. 30, the best thing that has ever happened to Turkey? According to the pro-Erdogan media, that was almost the case, and the “Sept. 30 Revolution” had to be applauded with fanfare. According to the anti-Erdogan voices, however, all the democratic reforms that the prime minister announced were either inadequate or illusory, and no one should have been fooled by such tricks.
I guess I am among those who take the third view: Yes, Erdogan’s democracy package was far from creating the ideal Turkey overnight, and it even fell short of some important expectations. Yet still, all the 28 separate legal reforms Erdogan announced deserve praise and support. While the prime minister may have deserved a lot of criticism in the past few years, and especially since the beginning of the Gezi Park protests in June, for his authoritarian tendencies and divisive rhetoric, this time he seems to be doing something right, and why not support him when he does something right?
