The news of the day here in the States might have been North Korean missiles but in France, Germany, and Russia it was the referendum held in Turkey. CNN reports that the people of Turkey have voted to give President Recep Tayyip Erdogan what amount to dictatorial powers:
Voters were asked to endorse an 18-article reform package put forward by the ruling Justice and Development Party that would replace the current system of parliamentary democracy with a powerful executive presidency.
“God willing, these results will be the beginning of a new era in our country,” Erdogan said at a news conference Sunday night, explaining that unofficial totals indicated the “yes” votes had prevailed in the referendum by about 1.3 million ballots, while Anadolu pegged it at closer to 1.14 million.
Turkey and Greece were both admitted to NATO in its first expansion in 1952. At the time both countries were ruled by anti-Communist military dictatorships and the rationale behind admitting them was rooted in Cold War politics.
Things are very, very different now. Rather than being a secular Kemalist state or a secular democratic one Turkey is increasingly an Islamist dictatorship and decreasingly compatible with either NATO or the European Union.
The United States and our European allies have some hard thinking to do. In my opinion Turkey has passed its sell-by date.
