Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan continues to rev the engine of his campaign supporting constitutional amendments. However, what the effort really needs is a solid steering alignment. It's all over the road.
The world according to Erdogan is full of villains conspiring against him, some perhaps real, some maybe imagined: Gulenists, Kurds, the Islamic State (IS), the media, the United Nations, Europe and even the pope.
If the constitutional amendments are approved in an April 16 referendum, the president's temporary powers under emergency law could become permanent. This would eliminate many of the checks and balances on the presidency, do away with the role of the prime minister and allow the president to skirt parliamentary and Cabinet approval and pass laws by decree.
Various posters have appeared supporting the changes to the constitution. On Feb. 12, Ankara’s colorful and longtime mayor, Melih Gokcek (a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP), tweeted “Is there anyone who opposes this?” over the image of a poster that reads “The decision is yours.” On the left-hand side of the poster, along with the Turkish flag displaying its crescent and star, are the images of Erdogan, the prime minister and the chairman of the Nationalist Action Party. Above them appears the word “Yes."
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