Now, as Erdogan pushes to officially transform the Turkish presidency from a figurehead role (obviously Erdogan is anything but a figurehead, but this is about enshrining powers he shouldn’t have into law) into a chief executive position, the President is appealing to history. As it turns out, the opposition aren’t the only ones who compare the strongman to Hitler.
“There are already examples in the world. You can see it when you look at Hitler’s Germany,” Erdogan said on Thursday, when asked whether it was possible to maintain the unitary structure of the state under an executive presidential system. “There are later examples in various other countries,” he added, in an apparent effort to soften the blow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I suppose Erdogan has another example with which to model his takeover:
People voted Hitler into power after the Reichstag Fire Decree was issued. This “executive order” led to the suspension of the right to assembly, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and other constitutional protections, including all restraints on police investigations. Sound familiar?
David DeGerolamo
And people ask how the German people could have let it happen. It has happened here, the violence is shortly to come.