So much promise, so much progress – all squandered. Perhaps the best we can hope for is that the generals (always a force to be reckoned with in Turkey) will decide that enough is enough and dump him on his authoritarian arse. Half his population are now used to Western liberty, beer, pop music and democracy and with 10M already enjoying life within the EU, they'll put up a fight before they put down their Facebook and Twitter accounts in the name of “National Unity”.
The simple answer, of course, is to give the Kurds a state, reform Sunni Islam to accommodate the 21st Century, and carry on the work of Ataturk in moulding a modern, free, democratic and wealthy Turkey where it will do the most good – as a shining beacon in the Middle East. Instead, another 100 years of chaos and the dark cloud of Islamism is being fast tracked into the heart of Europe.
Keep a close eye on the more maverick Balkan states – Kosovo, Bosnia, Albania – the cards are being dealt for a new type of EU with a modern ultra authoritarian Sultan sitting at the very heart of it - all with NATO's blessing. Don't say I didn't warn you what happens when a cuckoo lays an egg in your nest.
The simple answer, of course, is to give the Kurds a state, reform Sunni Islam to accommodate the 21st Century, and carry on the work of Ataturk in moulding a modern, free, democratic and wealthy Turkey where it will do the most good – as a shining beacon in the Middle East. Instead, another 100 years of chaos and the dark cloud of Islamism is being fast tracked into the heart of Europe.
Keep a close eye on the more maverick Balkan states – Kosovo, Bosnia, Albania – the cards are being dealt for a new type of EU with a modern ultra authoritarian Sultan sitting at the very heart of it - all with NATO's blessing. Don't say I didn't warn you what happens when a cuckoo lays an egg in your nest.