As a little footnote to my piece on the Turkish protests, a little nugget I have just discovered (h/t: Harry’s Place). In what seems now like quite a prescient interview earlier this year, King Abdullah of Jordan is quoted as saying the following:
”Erdogan once said that democracy for him is a bus ride,” Abdullah told the Atlantic. ”Once I get to my stop, I’m getting off.”
In the context of the reaction to the protests, and the frustrating comments of many that he is a “moderate”, I find these words particularly chilling.