If Erdogan uses the coup to go on a witch hunt against his political opponents he will undo all the good work he’s done. The tragedy of success is that it engenders a feeling of being always right.
Circumstances and environments change and smart leaders build on these to take their nations forward.
Long terms in positions of power and authority results in complacency, a desire to perpetuate their hold, and, consequently, becoming more and more repressive and authoritarian in their governance.
This leads to myopic thinking, that those who oppose them are out to subvert them, not realising that it’s a response and reaction to their dictatorial style.
A fixed two term rule in countries which continue to progress and innovate is the critical factor which brings in new faces, new ideas, innovation and progress and development.
Erdogan had this luxury when he started and the real reason behind his spectacular success.
Since the past few years he is turning into a despot, using constitutional measures to perpetuate his stay in power. And therein lie the seeds of his downfall and the undoing of his work.
In thriving democracies, even when a leader from the same party acquires power, they bring in a new team with fresh ideas and programs.
In Pakistan one sees this syndrome as well. Nawaz Sharif is still relying, pretty much on the same set of close advisers which he had in 1990. Imagine that. In 16 years nothing’s changed.
So that’s why we’re in this mess.
We need a new leader with a fresh team with new innovative ideas and programs in sync and leveraging the technological explosion that’s taken place in the last two decades.