Ankara, Turkey
Turkey’s ruling coalition has once again nominated a former Islamist as president, in direct defiance of the wishes of the secular military. The moderate-Islamic Justice and Development Party first nominated Abdullah Gul, current foreign minister, in April, angering the military and causing a political crisis that resulted in early parliamentary elections. The party won those elections last month with a solid majority, partly because of a backlash against military interference, and it is now putting Gul forward again. The military, which sees itself as the barrier between mosque and state, doesn’t want both the Cabinet and the presidency controlled by politicians with former ties to Islamism. The generals, however, are unlikely to complain a second time. Parliament will vote for president next week.
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