Erdogan’s Crisis: How Protests Undermined Turkish Leader’s Legacy
By Pelin Turgut / Istanbul June 20, 20138 Comments
A rally in support of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party in Istanbul's Gezi Park on June 16th
In 2011, as regional leaders were toppled from power, one after the other, Turkey’s strident Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan looked like he had it all: a thriving economy (the world’s fastest-growing after China’s), increased visibility on the world stage and popular support at home (he was elected for a third term with almost half of votes cast). A tough-talking survivor of several political bans on earlier incarnations of his Islamist party, a brief prison term and alleged attempts by the military to oust him from power, Erdogan played big and seemingly always won.
More:Erdogan’s Crisis: How Protests Undermined Turkish Leader’s Legacy | TIME.com
