Erdogan must be a president for all Turks

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of his ruling AK Party, as he stands in front of portraits of himself and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, left, the founder of modern Turkey, duriShow more

The prime minister has won a convincing victory in the presidential election. Now comes the hard part

A new era is beginning in Turkey. The resounding victory of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sunday’s presidential election means that, in five years, when his first presidential term expires, Mr Erdogan will have ruled Turkey for longer than anyone since the founding of the modern republic – longer, indeed, than the founder, Ataturk, himself. Such an accolade is lost neither on Mr Erdogan’s supporters, nor on the president-elect himself, who harbours ambitions to reshape Turkey ­entirely.

But reshape it how? Under Mr Erdogan, Turkey has changed immensely. It has become a 21st century country, with an economy that far outstrips its neighbours’. When Turkey was accepted as a candidate for membership of the European Union in 1999, it desperately needed to be part of the rich club next door. But in the first decade of the 21st century, its economy grew faster for more years than even the continent’s powerhouse Germany. That growth has come at a cost and, especially in recent years, Mr Erdogan’s grip has weakened the rule of law and the impartiality of the judiciary.

Mr Erdogan has a job uniting the country, then. He might take his inspiration from Ahmet Davutoglu, now foreign minister and tipped to be the next prime minister. It was Mr Davutoglu who was the architect of Turkey’s “zero problems with neighbours” policy, which served the country well until the Arab Spring uprisings.

Now Turkey needs a “zero problems at home” policy. Mr Erdogan is a popular politician but he needs to be a statesman. The political tensions brought out by the Gezi Park riots last summer are real. Mr Erdogan’s heavy-handed response was a mistake and his curbing of the right to protest has worried many Turks.

Similarly with his conflict with the Hizmet movement, led by the US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen. If Mr Erdogan is sure his purge of the intelligence services, police and judiciary is justified, he should, at least, draw a distinction between supporters of Hizmet and those seeking to undermine the state. Turkey also needs to pursue peace with its Kurdish minority. More than any other leader, Mr Erdogan has sought to solve the problem of Kurdish militancy; he must not miss the chance.

A majority of Turks have backed Mr Erdogan to be their president. But he would be wise to govern in the interest of even those who did not.