There is only one Lord of Turkey.....and he does not share Power

Just a few years ago, Turkey was a country revered to be a safe haven for citizens and tourists, in a region torn apart by war and terrorism. Its modern values were imposed by Ataturk, a revered former leader, who championed democracy and secularism. However, times appear to have changed. In just a few weeks, there is to be a referendum held in Turkey to decide whether the country should have an executive presidency that would replace the existing parliamentary system of government and abolish the office of the Prime Minister. Albeit a democratic referendum, the people should be extremely cautious about who they are giving power to:

His Excellency Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Yep, that is his official title. He is a divisive figure across Turkey and the world. Born in 1954, he was an amateur footballer in his youth, progressing to accountancy, mayoralty, Prime Minister and then Dicta..... I mean President.

Well I think we should take a look at this man and see if he really is "excellent".

Referendum 

The Populist notion of "Islamification"

Mr Geert Wilders

I've been reading in the news about the Dutch politician Geert Wilders and how he has been taking the lead in political polls with the general election drawing near. Mr Wilders has built a reputation with some amazingly subtle comments. Here is a selection :

- "Islam is not a religion, it's an ideology, the ideology of a retarded culture. I have a problem with Islamic tradition, culture, ideology. Not with Muslim people."

- "The Koran is a fascist book which incites violence. That is why this book, just like Mein Kampf, must be banned."

- "It is not acceptable for people to completely cover themselves on the street. It threatens public order and security. Plus it is a terrifying sight. Get rid of that woman-humiliating Islamic symbol."

- "The Moroccan scum in Holland … once again not all are scum … but there is a lot of Moroccan scum in Holland who make the streets unsafe, mostly young people ... and that should change"

Sounds like a nice guy right? As you can see a major policy of his campaign is to push back islamification and immigration in the Netherlands. This populist notion has leaped to the forefront of global politics, particularly in right wing political parties