World press on current political situation in Turkey (September 11, 2012)

Hurriyet published an article by Semih Idiz headlined 'Support for AKP strong despite mounting problems.'

'Turkey is going through a period of traumatic experiences for the public, both domestically and in terms of foreign policy. Clearly, the government is not the only one to blame here. Turkey has problems that have been left unresolved for decades,' the articl reads.

'But the Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power emphasizing its aim would not be to try and maintain the status quo. This was taken as a sign that new approaches would be brought to old and seemingly intractable problems,' the author says.

'Despite this often-repeated claim, however, we see a government that is unable or unwilling to take the bold steps required to resolve serious problems despite its landslide victory in the last general election, which should have enabled it to act freely.'

'What we see now, however, is an ongoing process where these gains are being watered down due to historic resentments, and in the name of conservatism, and the “religious generation” that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has openly said he wants to see in Turkey.'

'One can conclude, therefore, that the AKP is receiving strong support not to take the country forward, but to take it backward due to the resentments that have accumulated over time among the conservative masses,' the author says.

'There is, however, not much those who are unhappy with this state of affairs but believe in democracy can do, given that the AKP is also democratically elected. It seems some societies are doomed to learn the hard way,' he concludes