Turkey is scheduled to hold a referendum next month on whether to give the President new and expanded powers under the constitution. Turkey allows its citizens abroad to cast ballots in elections (like many other countries) and has requested permission from various European countries to send representatives to the large Turkish communities to encourage them to vote in favor of the referendum. The Netherlands and Germany has been reluctant to grant such permissions because it fears that domestic Turkish politics might flare up in the their countries. The response of the Turkish government has been angry, and the rhetoric surrounding the controversy has become quite volatile and nasty.
On Tuesday, German Chancellor Merkel and US President Trump will have their first face-to-face meeting. It is arguably the most important meeting the two countries will have since German reunification began in 1989. Merkel represents that last solid bastion of the liberal order championed by the US in 1945 but in danger of being repudiated by the new American President. The future of NATO and the European Union hangs in the balance.
Do you think the traffic is bad? Do you dread your morning commute? Just be thankful you are not abroad this train trying to leave Dhaka, Bangladesh.
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