Congratulations from world capitals for the newly elected Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, seemed somehow embarrassed or half-hearted. The exceptions were those coming from the central Asian countries that lie within the Turkish sphere, regimes led by monarchies and hereditary presidential republics to outright Stalinist dictatorships. Such was the case with congratulations from the White House. How could it be otherwise? Uncle Sam is very angry these days, as shown by congress's criticism of the autocratic nature of rule in Anatolia. Nor were the leaders of Europe about to rush out and embrace the newly sworn-in incumbent of the Çankaya Presidential Palace, not after the findings of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). In a report, the OSCE criticised Turkey's presidential elections on 10 August for their lack of transparency, integrity and equality between the three candidates — in brief, for falling short of European standards for free and fair elections. True, throngs filled the area in front of the headquarters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (JDP) in the upscale Balgat quarter of Ankara when the Supreme Electoral Commission announced the JDP candidate's victory. Yet, in spite of this and the triumphant fanfare on pro-JDP media, many observers could not help but to detect something forced in the celebrations. Whether it was their mask-like expressions or the lack of glimmer in the eyes, something betrayed the fact that the members of the “winning team” were aware that theirs was a false victory and that everyone knew this. The observers noted the lockjaw smiles those attending the celebration, hosted in the presidential palace by outgoing president Abdullah Gül. It was as though the smiles were articles of clothing picked up at the door when coming in and discarded when leaving. All the artifice confirms that this was no hard-won victory. It was more in the nature of a victory by default. The JDP candidate, Erdogan, was still prime minister and had at his disposal all the resources of the state. He used them to the fullest advantage. Social networking sites are filled with sarcastic comments about the mega-projects, such as the high-speed Istanbul-Ankara railway, that were “inaugurated” only hours before the polls opened. Work on that railway project is far from complete and it will be some time before commuters will be able to take that high-speed trip. But that did not to stand in the way of the railway becoming yet another opportunity for one of Erdogan's pre-election day television appearances. The opposition did the best it could to prevent Erdogan from extending his hold on power through the president's office. However, their resources could not compete with those of the JDP. In fact, the opposition performed quite well given its their disadvantaged position, which is why they do not regard the result as a defeat or a victory for their adversary. The Republican People's Party (RPP) boycotted Erdogan's oath of office. How can we celebrate a person who together with other members of his family was implicated in cases of corruption and bribery and the plundering of the money of the state and the people, asked RPP chief Kemal Kiliçdaroglu. He also accused Erdogan and his government of staging a “civil coup” against the law and constitution and reducing institutions of the state to a single objective: the glorification of a single individual. Erdogan forges ahead, regardless. The people around the Prophet Mohamed quarrelled, he said, giving a clear indication of how modestly he thinks of himself. He proceeded to carry out what had long been prearranged, taking his faithful servant, whom he had promoted through the JDP ranks, appointed as presidential advisor and then as foreign minister, and elevating him to JDP chief and prime minister at the same time. Ahmet Davutoglu will not possibly bite the hand of the master who has lifted him from the darkness of obscurity onto the stage of glory and world renown. The idea is for Davutoglu to remain at Erdogan's beck and call until a new parliament is elected in mid-2015, after which the system of government is likely to change from a parliamentary one to a presidential one, dispensing with the need for Davutoglu or any prime minister. While the Turkish system may at that point resemble that in Washington, there will remain a fundamental difference. The Turkish National Assembly (abbreviated in Turkish as TBMM) will not have anywhere near the powers of the US Congress. The indications are that Davutoglu will not disappoint his president and that he will do as instructed until Erdogan fulfils his dream and becomes a president with unrestricted powers. In the meantime, of course, it will be necessary to eliminate all opposition. This will require creating a fear of the so-called parallel state, an allusion to the supporters of Islamist preacher Fethullah Gülen, who has been living in Pennsylvania since 1999. In a press conference last Thursday, Erdogan said that all Turkish people expect Davutoglu to use all possible means and resources to achieve the hope of “the new Turkey” and destroy “the parallel structure.” Confident in the realisation of his ambitions, Erdogan has ordered construction to pick up the pace on the new presidential headquarters being constructed on a large plot of land in Ataturk Park, overlooking Ankara. The idea is to imitate the White House. As this building is situated on a hill, its balconies have been designed to give a panoramic view of the capital. When completed, the presidential palace will be relocated to this new site. It is to be equipped with the latest technology for dealing with natural disasters and nuclear, chemical and biological attacks. Perhaps more importantly, it will be equipped to protect its chief resident from eavesdropping. This is to prevent a repetition of the scandals caused by leaked tapes, such as the recordings of a phone call between Erdogan and his son, Bilal, over financial deals and “zeroing” large sums of cash. As confident as Erdogan may be, there are clouds on the horizon. The value of the Turkish lira is expected to fall further against the dollar; the dollar rose from YTL 2.15 to 2.35 over three months, and to YTL2.50 over six months. There is also a resurgence of terrorist activities in southeast Anatolia. It is as if the perpetrators were just waiting for the presidential election to end. Ankara had earlier announced that it was ready to begin direct talks with leaders of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), currently based in the Qandil Mountains in northern Iraq. But there is a group opposed to PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, serving a life sentence in Imrali Prison, that rejects the current peace process. According to secularist and anti-JDP newspapers, the terrorist operations are a way for the ruling party to build up pressure to achieve other political goals. The JDP, they say, has set its sights on securing those goals in the run-up to the legislative elections in June 2015.
