Prior to the March 30 municipal elections, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had adopted strong anti-Western rhetoric, further tarnishing his already damaged image in the United States and Europe, as well as straining Ankara’s relations with the West. The question being asked by Western diplomats and Turkey observers is whether Erdogan, to normalize ties​, will tone it down after the strong electoral results secured by his Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Nouriel Roubini, of Roubini Global Economics and a senior economist for international affairs in the Clinton administration, suggested before the elections that Erdogan would “shift policies” in a way that would eliminate political uncertainties in Europe and the United States concerning Turkey. He argued, “Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan cannot realize his dream of a presidential republic and will have to follow his opponents — including a large protest movement — to the secular center.”

Roubini's prediction is predicated on two assumptions. The first is that Erdogan still wants to become president, which is not as clear-cut as it once was, and the second is that he has a desire to move to the “secular center,” even though his Islamist perspective has since been endorsed by 43% of the electorate.

The criticism Erdogan has been getting from the United States and Europe mostly concerns his increasingly authoritarian and undemocratic tendencies, apart from his accusations about external forces, mostly in the West, trying to topple him and his government. Since the elections, Erdogan has shown no sign of abating his tendencies, as indicated by his remarks on the Constitutional Court's ruling that the government’s Twitter ban breaches freedom of expression.