Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was to the point when he said that “Turkey is the talk of the world.” Erdogan’s point of reference was his country’s impressive growth (he tripled the size of the economy since taking power in 2003) and its lofty place within the OECD countries. The manner by which he reduced the mainstream political opposition to a bunch of bungling , whimpering secularists was another feat.