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Erdogan gobbles up power in new Turkish government

Turkey’s recently announced cabinet is stacked with loyal allies of the president, making it clear that this is the "government of Erdogan."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a news conference after a meeting Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Istanbul, November 13, 2015.  REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTS6UOX

I was waiting for the announcement of the new Turkish Cabinet on Nov. 24 when a Russian fighter jet was shot down by a Turkish F-16 on the border between Turkey and Syria. The magnitude of the international crisis that the incident may generate is still too early to predict. Hearing an angry Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said Russia was “stabbed in the back by those who abetted the terrorists” and accused Turkey of aiding the Islamic State (IS) in transporting and selling its oil, and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov canceling his visit to Ankara and calling on Russians not to go to Turkey, it is not hard to predict the days ahead could hold very serious developments.

The announcement of the anxiously awaited new Turkish Cabinet revealed the identity of the government that has been much debated. Would it be the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or a coalition between the president and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu?

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