Turkey: Erdogan Calls Snap Election for June; Lira, Stocks Rally -

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called elections a year earlier than scheduled, moving to consolidate his one-man rule of the region’s largest economy.

The vote will complete the transformation of the political system, eliminating the prime minister’s job and weakening the role of parliament. Turkish markets rallied after Erdogan’s announcement in Ankara that the country will go to the polls June 24 to pick a president, almost certainly ratifying his hold on power.

“In calling an early election, Erdogan must feel confident he and his AK Party have the necessary numbers to achieve victory," said Paul Greer, a London-based portfolio manager at Fidelity International. "That itself should reduce market uncertainty."

Erdogan’s ruling party has never called early elections in the nearly 16 years it’s been in power, and repeatedly rejected speculation that it’d call them this year. Many analysts had predicted an early vote nonetheless, saying a deteriorating economic outlook and fighting in neighboring Syria would prompt him to move up the date rather than risk re-election in a downturn.

Erdogan, who defeated an attempted coup in 2016, has stoked nationalist fervor since launching an incursion into Syria in January, playing the same card as other strongmen, such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin.

“It has become a necessity for Turkey to overcome uncertainties as soon as possible amid developments of historical importance in our region as well as the cross-border operation we’re carrying out in Syria,” Erdogan said in announcing the vote.

Read more: Erdogan Calls Snap Election for June; Lira, Stocks Rally - Bloomberg

US Turkey Relations: How Turkey Fell Out of Favor - by Soner Cagaptay

The transformation of Turkey’s standing in the eyes of the U.S. military is due to Turkish and American dynamics.

Following the September 11 attacks, the U.S. government, including the military, became preoccupied with identifying moderate Muslim allies.

Turkey benefited from this endeavor as the ruling pro-Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) won the elections in 2002, taking office on a platform of moderation.

The AKP upset its potential allies in Washington, however, when it refused to help Washington in the 2003 Iraq War.

Some argue that the American military never fully recovered from that break, though the rest of Washington eventually did.

In any case, bilateral ties recovered gradually once Ankara started to help the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan and against al Qaeda.

Under the AK Party in the last decade, Turkey became a logistics hub for U.S. operations in the Middle East and beyond. In return, Washington started to offer Turkey intelligence assistance against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in 2007 and relations between Ankara and Washington began to strengthen.

Read more: United States: How Turkey Fell Out of Favor - The Globalist

Turkey protests continue

Protests have continued in Turkey as demonstrators defied a government appeal to end deadly unrest in which two people have died.

On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arnic apologised for "excessive violence" against protesters trying to save a park in Istanbul, a campaign which acted as catatlyst for deeper tensions within the country. He is expected to meet with some of the protestors on Wednesday in Ankara.

Police used tear gas and water cannon overnight and into Wednesday morning on hundreds of protesters, who ignored warnings to disperse in Istanbul, Ankara and the southeastern city of Hatay.

In Istanbul, thousands gathered at Taksim Square yelling defiance at Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had earlier dismissed the protesters as "extremists" and "vandals".

Note EU-Digest:   Ever since the election of Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AK Party back in 2003 Turkey has been presented as a modern and mostly democratic state - a political model for the region.

Their economic progress has been spectacular even though the verdict at what price this has been really achieved is not yet in.

Supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and the Ennahda party in Tunisia often say Erdogan and the AKP have proved that parties like theirs, which seek a greater role for Islam in politics, can govern and preserve democratic values.

Instead the contrary is shown to be true: there is suppression of anyone in the press which does not follow the party line. Turkey has jailed more journalists than any other country in the world. The government uses a heavy hand in pushing through legislation which closely follows the line of Sharia law and  enriches those in power to the point were it must be seen as pure corruption. 

Turkey's parliament has backed a controversial bill restricting the consumption and advertising of alcohol in the  predominantly Muslim country.

The measure, passed on Friday, May 31, prohibits alcoholic beverage companies from sponsoring events and restricts the places where such drinks can be consumed. It also bans the sale of alcoholic drinks between 10pm and 6:00am, but only in shops
The fact that the demonstrations have spread far from Istanbul where they started, to the capital Ankara and other cities and even small towns, indicates that the situation is feverish. If Erdogan continues to speak with "macho" contempt, he will surely aggravate the situation. He has enemies, not only in the streets, but in the army which he has deprived of their traditional role in guarding the secular constitution, which was its legacy from Ataturk.

For the first time since he came to power Erdogan’s position looks shaky. He would be well advised to draw back, abandon his plan to change the constitution and have himself elected to a more powerful presidency, and instead to seek to conciliate or appease the growing number of his critics.

Pushing ahead with his ever more Islamist agenda would be dangerously provocative. Secularly-minded Turks have evidently had enough of it.

Read more: Turkey protests continue despite apology - Europe - Al Jazeera English