Why Some Turks Miss Military Coups
A Turkish opposition politician made headlines by suggesting that a military coup might be the best way to defeat the ruling Justice and Development Party, writes Mustafa Akyol.
Osman Aydın, a member of the Turkish Parliament and of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), was little-known figure until last week. But with a short speech he gave at a small village in his province, Aydın, he created a mid-size political scandal and made national headlines.
The scandal was that as an elected politician, Aydın saw the ideal way of defeating his party's main political rival, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, as not elections but a military coup.
“There were coups in the past; political power used to change that way," he first reminded, referring to Turkey's past. Then he went on to say:
"Now there are no generals around to make coups. They [the government] got rid of all of them. There is no such rescue anymore. The only way to rescue is the ballot. Hence we will be well-prepared when we head to the ballots."
