Well, scratch that last post of mine. Against all expectations, Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled today not to disband the AK party, but instead to cut its public funding in half. Democracy has won — but by a thin margin. Six judges ruled in favor of a full ban, four for financial penalty, and only one against any punishment at all. Just one more in favor of a ban would have dissolved the party.
Despite the scary-close final decision, a stern sanction may be the best outcome. If AK’s leaders are smart politicians and not insidious Islamists (evidence certainly points towards the former), they will pick up on the court’s signal and recalibrate towards their first-term agenda of growth and liberalization. Meanwhile, AK’s fate is back in the hands of voters, where it belongs.
Today’s ruling ought to be good for markets paralyzed by uncertainty, good for the peace process that now pivots around Ankara, and most important, good for democracy and rule of law in Turkey.
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