Ankara
Abdullah Gul stepped down as Turkish prime minister this week so that Recep Tayyip Erdogan, head of the ruling moderate Islamist party, could take over as head of government. Erdogan led his party to victory in last November’s election, but he couldn’t take office himself because of a 1998 conviction for “anti-secular sedition.” (The conviction was for publicly reading a poem that had a religious theme.) The new parliament, dominated by Islamists, promptly amended the constitution to allow the popular leader to hold office. Now that he’s prime minister, Erdogan is expected to call for a new vote on whether to allow U.S. troops to use Turkish territory to attack Iraq. Erdogan has greater influence with lawmakers than Gul, and he’s expected to secure permission for the U.S. military presence.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Quiz of The Week: 15 – 21 NovemberQuiz Have you been paying attention to The Week’s news?
-
Can the UK do more on climate change?Today's Big Question Labour has shown leadership in the face of fraying international consensus, but must show the public their green mission is ‘a net benefit, not a net cost’
-
The Week Unwrapped: Will US Catholics rebel against the Pope?Podcast Plus what are the ethics of freezing your late partner?
