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Erdogan caught off guard in latest political crisis

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan may opt for early elections to ride out the corruption storm.
Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan arrives for a ceremony in Ankara December 18, 2013. Scores of people including three ministers' sons, prominent businessmen close to Erdogan and local government officials were detained on Tuesday in the biggest corruption investigation since he swept to power in 2002. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX16NF0

Nobody thought Turkey’s powerful Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan would be caught so off guard — not after last summer’s Gezi Park protests — as he apparently was before the major graft probe, which involves four of his ministers, including the minister of interior and his sons.

Yet, he was. As the police raided houses and offices in an operation that so far included more than 50 people and a wave of detentions, Erdogan — kept out of the loop over the inquiry — is now facing his most serious political challenge ever.

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