Erdogan calls for unity as parliament begins new legislative year
As Turkey’s Grand National Assembly convenes, lawmakers and pundits are buzzing about shifting political alliances, new parties and even the possibility of early elections.
ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan struck a conciliatory tone at the opening of the new legislative year on Tuesday, inviting parliament’s bitterly polarized members to work together to lift the country’s democratic standards.
But signs of the deep divisions among parties were apparent from the outset, when lawmakers from the two largest opposition groupings did not stand and applaud Erdogan’s entrance, and the president signaled that the parliament’s pro-Kurdish party may be unwelcome in his new drive for unity.
