Skip to main content

Erdogan’s Fateful Season

The real danger for the Turkish prime minister is in the warning signs of the economy.
Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) shakes hands with Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, as they meet in Ankara August 2, 2013. REUTERS/Adem Altan/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ENTERTAINMENT) - RTX1288Q

Summer 2013 has become a major milestone in the career of Turkey’s popular and populist Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Taksim-Gezi Park protests that broke out in Istanbul at the end of May, beginning of June have made Erdogan tenser than ever. Some of his domestic allies have abandoned him. But the prime minister, with an amazing display of energy, hit the road, organized mass rallies and began to challenge all opposition with hard-line polemics.

The tremors in Turkey were followed by the events in Egypt, the toppling and detention of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi in a military coup, removal of the Muslim Brotherhood from power and then massacres of Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Cairo’s two squares.

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.