Quite a few commentators at the time, myself included, wrote wistful articles wishing that Turkey too could enjoy an “Obama moment” and find renewed momentum for change. At the time, stagnation was still sitting heavily on this country, and the effects of the e-memorandum of 2007 and the court challenge against the ruling party the following year were still being felt.The Justice and Development Party (AKP) had won the elections in 2007, but it seemed unable to capitalize on the political momentum gained at the time. Many liberals who had supported the AKP were growing disillusioned with its ability to keep its early reformist promise, and Turkey appeared so polarized that major forward moves appeared unlikely.
Today, the situation is almost reversed. Liberals in New York are griping that Obama is overly cautious and has surrounded himself with an economic team that would not seem out of place in a Republican administration. In spite of the eloquence that carried him through the campaign, Obama has yet to find his voice as a president, and many of his supporters complain that the discourse they now hear sounds very much like traditional politician-speak.
Hopes for major reforms have, of course, not been abandoned in the US, but Obama, bold in thinking, has proved more timid in governing than his supporters expected. Many fear that he is wasting the extraordinary political energy that carried him to power, seeking accommodation with political foes who will never meet him in the center.
Healthcare reform is still likely to be adopted, but in a form much diluted by pressure from Republicans and insurance lobbyists. While statistics suggest that the economy is growing and Wall Street is enjoying huge profits again, jobs are still being lost in numbers unprecedented in recent history.
It goes without saying that Obama, for all his apparent dithering, is leagues above his predecessor, whose over-confidence had disastrous consequences for the entire world. But one year on, the honeymoon is clearly over and the incumbent is no longer measured against W. Instead, he is being assessed on progress made fixing the mess left by the previous administration.
And what a legacy that was! Obama inherited a collapsing banking system, a serious recession and soaring unemployment as well as conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, which now appears to be the president’s biggest challenge.
No politician, however talented and inspired, could ever have met the sky-high expectations that brought him to power. There was bound to be a return to earth for the rock star president. It came on Nov. 3 of this year with the results of odd-year elections that returned two gubernatorial seats to Republicans in New Jersey and in Virginia.
The results may not mean much, but they will undoubtedly comfort Obama’s foes and provide fodder to the venomous Republican commentators who have attacked his every move. The polarization we have seen in Turkey in recent years is easily matched in the US.
While in the US reality has set in one year on, Turkey, on the other hand, is riding a new wave of change, one that could change the country’s political landscape for good.
The AKP, which had also sought common ground with opponents -- in this case, the state establishment -- is finally forging ahead with its own agenda. Its proactive foreign policy is accompanied by serious attempts at home to lift the impunity that had for too long allowed shadowy powers to bypass elected governments and rule Turkey by remote control from behind the scenes.
Turkey is approaching a watershed. The path ahead will not be smooth, but to borrow Obama’s words, people are now rediscovering the “audacity of hope” in an environment where expectations had too often hit a wall in the past. The return of a bolder AKP should also encourage our American friends: It shows that even when a government, mired in confusion, appears to have run out of energy, a combination of circumstances and brave leadership can allow it to find its second wind.
