Once the “Sick Man of Europe”, it's truly remarkable to see the rapid transformation of Turkey into an economic powerhouse and a country truly respected in the region and on the world stage. This does not mean that all is happy and bright in the country, or that it will once again achieve the dominance it had when the Ottomans ruled vast tracts of the world. That era is long gone. On June 12 the country faces one of its most crucial tests – its national elections. It is not so much whether the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will rule again, but rather the amount of power the party will gain after the elections. An opposition weakened by sex scandals and unable to provide an alternative is helping to put the AKP in a position where it may have the power to change the constitution on its own, without the support of any other party or the need to seek a referendum. It depends of course on the outcome of the election, whether the party will get a two thirds majority in parliament, or 367 seats. There is already talk that the AKP, specifically Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister, will try to strengthen his own office, turning it into what one report labeled “South American-style authoritarianism”.The criticism is coming mostly from those who distrust the AKP's supposed Islamist leanings, in a country that prides itself on the secularism introduced by its founder and first president Mustafa Kamal Ataturk. It seems unlikely that Erdogan will renege on the promises made to the people, in a referendum held last year, to replace the existing constitution written in 1982 after a military coup, with one that will bolster democracy. The AKP has to tread carefully here. If it makes a mistake and goes back on its word, it could mean the beginning of the end for it, despite the fact that it now appears to be at its most powerful. The ruling party also has to have a plan in place to deal with the 14 million Kurds in the country. So the AKP has to be even-handed and produce a constitution that is all-inclusive. If it does so, it can dampen the dangerous nationalist fires smoldering in the country, negate the threat from the military and quiet the voices of dissent and criticism. __
