Turkey: Erdogan with strengthened mandate, seeks to appease

Recep Tayyip Erdogan began Monday a new mandate with vast powers, pledging to be the president of all Turks while his critics fear an autocratic turn.

M. Erdogan, 64, was sworn in, pledging to preserve the principles of secular Turkey founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and to carry out his task in an "impartial" manner.

M. Erdogan, accompanied by his wife Emine, was greeted with a round of applause as he arrived in Parliament, where an alliance dominated by his Islamic-conservative AKP party holds the majority.

In power since 2003, first as prime minister and later president, Mr. Erdogan was re-elected on June 24, winning the presidential election in the first round with 52.6% of the vote, far ahead of his competitors. [19659004AftertakingtheoathErdoganlaidawreathattheAtatürkMausoleumbeforepresidingoveraceremonyatthepresidentialpalaceusheringinanewerainTurkey'smodernhistorywiththetransitiontothepresidentialsystemunderthetermsofaconstitutionalamendmentadoptedbyreferendumwithanarrowmargininApril2017

Welcoming "a new beginning" for Turkey, he promised in an apparent attempt to appease an extremely polarized society, to serve all Turks. [19659004] "I am not only the president of those who voted for me but of the whole of 81 million (the Turkish population)," he declared.

He also promised to work for to advance "the democ rights and freedoms "and to elevate Turkey among the top ten economies in the world.

-" One Man Regime "-

Mr. Erdogan's accession to this" hyper-presidency "comes into play nearly two years after a coup attempt, on July 15, 2016, led by factious soldiers and followed by large purges including within the armed forces, police and administrations, with the arrest or dismissal of tens thousands of people.

The latest wave of purges, announced Sunday, affected more than 18,000 people, mostly soldiers and policemen, who were sacked by a decree-law presented as the last under the state of emergency created in the aftermath of the failed coup

The leaders of Turkey since Atatürk / AFP

"A regime of one man begins today", wrote on his the opposition daily C umhuriyet. Her columnist Asli Aydintasbas speaks of the advent of a "second republic" succeeding secular Turkey.

The pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak hailed a "historic day" during which "a page of Turkish history is turned and a new page opens. "

In the new system, the post of prime minister, occupied by Binali Yildirim, will be abolished, the head of state will now hold the entire executive power and may promulgate decrees.

He will also appoint six of the thirteen members of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK), responsible for appointing and removing the judiciary.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greets MPs in Ankara on July 7, 2018 / AFP

"Most of the powers will be concentrated in his hands, there will be no more prime minister and almost none of the procedures of checks and balances of a liberal democracy. In other words, Turkey will be an institutionalized autocracy, "says Marc Pierini researcher at the Carnegie Institute Europe.

In the general elections held at the same time as the presidential election, the AKP won 295 seats out of 600 and controls Parliament only through its alliance with the ultranationalists of the MHP, which has 49 elected officials.

Many experts fear that this alliance will lead to a tightening of the policy led by Mr. Erdogan, including on the issue

Foreign leaders such as Venezuelan Nicolas Maduro and Sudanese Omar al-Bashir and Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev attended the ceremony, along with Bulgarian President Roumen Radev and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban

Erdogan is expected to present in the evening a new tight government that should have 16 ministries against 26 (not counting the prime minister) currently

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reviews guard of honor when he arrives in Parliament in Ankara, 7 July 2018 / AFP

Several ministries will be merged, like the Ministry of European Affairs which will be part of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The most pressing challenge seems to be the crisis emerging economy with high inflation, currency devaluation and a large current account deficit, despite solid growth

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