Coup Was ‘Gift From God’ for Erdogan Planning a New Turkey
- Purges, arrests and a likely concentration of power coming
- Secular elite watching internecine fighting from sidelines
Will Erdogan Use Coup Attempt to His Advantage?
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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan promised "a new Turkey" after Friday’s failed coup. Its shape had already been emerging but the amateurish takeover attempt, which Erdogan called "a gift from God," gives him additional tools to realize it.
He has made clear that the country he plans would be different in two fundamental ways: power would be concentrated in the hands of the president, and the old secular elites would have a lesser political role. Whether overseas markets will cooperate remains a big question given that Turkey has one of the highest current-account deficits among G-20 countries.