By 9pm Sunday night Istanbul time, the most boring question of last night’s Turkish election – who would win – had been answered, with the ruling AKP party romping it in with 48.5% of the vote, while the most interesting question – would they get the magic two-thirds majority in the 550 seat parliament – remains unanswered.
Akp
Tarring democrats with the “Islamist” brush
A range of observers keep telling us that Australia and other western countries face a terrorist threat from “Islamists”. No doubt the threat is real, but I’ve been saying for years that this term for it is unhelpful and offensive.
Turkey in grip of election fever, but a nice place to visit
That’s democracy and freedom in the West’s official good Muslim state, which I must say is also a fantastic easygoing place, full of douceur de vie, especially compared with the grim soft-1984 CCTV hell of the UK.
