| Lord, hear our prayer. |
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire...
’s President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...faces his most difficult election yet; one that could kill his dream of a third term and end his impressive national political career spanning more than two decades.
If he had his way, he would be a sultan presiding over his very own modern-day Ottoman Empire, shaped in his image, until his last dying breath.
Although the sultan comparison may appear like a simple cliché, analysts and politicians worldwide have repeatedly used it to illustrate Erdogan's authoritarianism and how he eroded the independence of state institutions.
German politician Cem Özdemir once said: "Erdogan wants to be a modern sultan. He wants to rule Turkey for life, and he wants to do it with an iron fist."
American political analyst focusing on Turkey and the Kurdish regions, Max Hoffman, said: "Erdogan's slide into authoritarianism has led many to call him a ’sultan’, a moniker that speaks to his increasing control over Turkey's politics, society, and economy."
Erdogan’s actions since the failed coup in 2016 are viewed by many analysts and Western governments as a consolidation of significant power and a behavior more closely resembling a traditional authoritarian ruler than a democratically elected president. Analysts and politicians use the term "sultan" to imply a concentration of power and a disregard for democratic norms and institutions.
Despite the amount of power he has consolidated over the years, Erdogan faces an uphill battle in the upcoming presidential election. The conditions leading up to this election are unlikely to play in favor of another presidential term for him.